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By Byron J. Richards, CCN - June 27, 2007 - NewsWithViews.com
- The FDA, emboldened by its transformation into a drug
company, has embarked upon an anti-American plan of interfering
with business and intentionally eliminating various dietary supplement
companies from the market. The FDA announcement came on Friday,
June 22, 2007 under the guise of a final rule for dietary supplement
good manufacturing practices (CGMPs). Within this 800
page rule the FDA states, “We find that this final rule
will have a significant economic impact on a substantial number
of small entities.... Establishments with above average costs,
and even establishments with average costs, could be hard pressed
to continue to operate. Some of these may decide it is too costly
and either change product lines or go out of business.... 140
very small [less than 20 employees] and 32 small dietary supplement
manufacturers [less than 500 employees] will be at risk of going
out of business.... costs per establishment are proportionally
higher for very small than for large establishments....The regulatory
costs of this final rule will also discourage new small businesses
from entering the industry.”
This FDA rule will directly raise the price of dietary supplements
for all consumers. The FDA acknowledges this and says “We
expect that the majority of these costs will be borne by consumers
of dietary supplements, who will likely respond to the increase
in prices by reducing consumption.” Thus, the FDA is intentionally
seeking to shrink the size of the dietary supplement industry
and reduce the influence of safe and effective options to improve
the dreadful trend in the health of Americans. The goal is to
leave toxic drugs as the primary health option.
Independent analysis of this FDA rule has placed cost of compliance
at 10 fold what the FDA estimates with as many as 50% of small
companies unable to comply.
The gutless cowards of Congress, a majority of whom are on the
Big Pharma payroll or will be on it once they leave Congress,
have delegated their lawmaking powers granted by the U.S. Constitution
to a bunch of Big Pharma-friendly unelected bureaucrats at the
FDA, who are in turn using this power to undermine free commerce
and help Big Pharma eliminate competition from the market. This
is the behavior of a government in tyranny, inviting a revolution
by the people. It is noteworthy that fascist
governments of the past have eliminated health freedom and
health options as a necessary condition to enslave and brainwash
a population. Congress has delegated its responsibility to the
people to such an extent that over half the laws in this country
are now concocted by unelected bureaucrats with vested interests.
A Vehicle for Unprecedented Harassment
Any company that can afford to comply with the costs and regulations
of this new FDA rule can be targeted and eliminated at will by
the FDA. In essence, the FDA is seeking to make the dietary supplement
industry document every phase of production, including expensive
testing at multiple points in the production process. Massive
recordkeeping will be required, including all customer complaints
and returns for any reason! This is utterly draconian and unnecessary
interference and burden to free commerce. It is completely Anti-American.
No doubt, the FDA will impose user fees as an additional charge
so that FDA agents will have the funding required to enforce
the regulations. Under the new rule any flaw in bookkeeping can
result in a company’s products being declared adulterated,
allowing the FDA to remove them from the market even though nothing
is wrong with them! A company can then be forced out of business
because they won’t be able to sell any products to raise
the money to comply. The rules are so complex and vague that
the FDA can selectively target any company it chooses, even those
attempting to comply in good faith.
The FDA is doing this under the pretense of improved consumer
safety. Consumer safety could readily be guaranteed by simply
having all companies test their final products for purity and
potency. Instead of this simple approach the FDA has gone to
the extreme of burdening the dietary supplement industry with
regulations in excess of the drug industry! Supplements are foods,
not drugs. The food industry couldn’t begin to comply with
these FDA rules, even though food contamination is far more dangerous
to health than dietary supplements.
The FDA intends to phase this rule in over the next three years.
This means that within five years half the industry and many
of the health options individuals rely on will either be gone
or significantly more expensive.
Even more chilling is that forces within the dietary supplement
industry itself are in no small part responsible for this FDA
final rule.
Trade Groups and their Big Companies Turn on America
The Natural Products Association (formerly the National Nutritional
Food Association – NNFA) and the Council for Responsible
Nutrition (CRN) have been instrumental in forcing these drug-like
rules on dietary supplements. These globalist organizations are
selling out America, destroying American jobs, undermining the
U.S. Constitution, and working in conjunction with pharmaceutical
companies to usher in Codex and the New World Order. Consumers
of dietary supplements should learn who these companies are before
buying their products and helping to inadvertently fund the destruction
of health freedom in this country.
When DSHEA was passed in 1994 part of that law required the FDA
to establish current good manufacturing practices (CGMPs) for
the dietary supplement industry. During a period of FDA outreach
to the industry the FDA was surprised to learn that CRN and NPA
were in favor of drug-like CGMPs for the dietary supplement industry.
These trade groups, working closely with Senators Orin Hatch
(R-UT) and Tom Harkin (D-IA), have intentionally taken the supplement
industry down a slippery slope. It is noteworthy that Hatch takes
in more money from Big Pharma than he does from dietary supplement
companies. Not only is Hatch a big supporter of the Medicare
Part D drug rip off of Americans he has saved Big Pharma billions
by protecting them from generic competition, as he is currently
attempting to do with his legislation for new biologic drugs.
Hatch also has a son working for NPA and another son that lobbies
for NPA and the dietary supplement industry. When Hatch leaves
the Senate he will be first in line for a six or seven figure
Big Pharma salary.
The CRN has been taken over by multinational drug and food companies.
Key players are the nutritional divisions of Bayer, BASF, Cargill,
Monsanto, Wyeth, and Archer Daniels Midland. Nutrition
companies that participate are in most cases owned by pharmaceutical
companies, heavily invested in pharmaceutical companies, or jockeying
for position in the international market as part of the New World
Order. Key names include Mannatech, Shaklee, Herbalife, GNLD
International, The Vitamin Shoppe, and GNC. These companies are
glad to eliminate competition from small companies and start
up ventures.
Carrying on the general theme of Big Pharma ownership and
a globalist agenda are the companies that control the NPA. One
need only look at the new NPA
China board to understand who these key players are. Jarrow
Formulas, Now Foods, GNC, and Herbalife top the list. At the
end of 2006 Jarrow and Now helped lead the charge with Senators
Hatch and Harkin to burden the dietary supplement industry with
bizarre Adverse
Event Reporting legislation (AER) which insisted that dietary
supplement companies keep extensive records on any type of consumer
complaint. Aspects of this AER law are now implemented in the
FDA final rule on CGMPs. Of course, NPA was quick to offer expensive
training to its members to indoctrinate them into how to comply
with the rules that NPA, working on behalf of the FDA, just forced
on its own members. Are their member companies really this stupid?
Or are they all working together? I would recommend that any
NPA member that believes itself to be a true American company
that values our constitution immediately withdraw from NPA membership
– consumers will be looking to see who
you are.
The picture is now crystal clear for any person who cares
to look. Numerous dietary supplement companies are anti-American
and actively selling out our country and our constitution, working
hand-in-glove with the FDA and Big Pharma. The majority of such
companies can be found as members of CRN and NPA. It will be
up to the American consumer to save the dietary industry from
itself and preserve their own access to safe and effective natural
health remedies. This is a relatively simple task. Quit buying
products from or quit being a distributor in these fascist organizations.
Support the small companies that are the backbone of America,
otherwise they will soon be extinct.
Update on S.1082 Threat to Dietary Supplements
Many of you have been following the extreme threat to dietary
supplements posed by S.1082. Similar legislation has now
cleared the House Energy and Commerce Committee and is headed
for the floor of the House in the next week or two. The House
version of this bill now contains the “food and food ingredients”
language that the FDA can use to apply drug-related risk/benefit
analysis to dietary supplements and have them removed from the
market at their whim.
It is noteworthy that both CRN and NPA have posted on their websites
information stating that S.1082 is not a threat to dietary supplements.
Both organizations are flat out wrong. They cite a colloquy
by Hatch, Harkin, Kennedy, and Enzi as their evidence. This colloquy
was a direct result of our grassroots campaign to alert the American
consumer to this major threat. In no way does this colloquy protect
dietary supplements. UNTIL THE LANGUAGE IN THE BILL IS CHANGED
THE THREAT EXISTS AND IS VERY REAL.
CRN and NPA also tell their members that the Codex initiative
to scare consumers into thinking that dietary supplements are
unsafe above miniscule amounts and need to be regulated by international
laws is also no big deal. It is clear that CRN and NPA, again
working hand-in-glove with the FDA, are a major part of the problem
and are actively engaged in forwarding the globalist agenda of
the New World Order. While pretending to represent the dietary
supplement industry these organizations are in fact shooting
the industry in the back and undermining health options for Americans.
The FDA is Out of Control
The FDA is a tyrannical organization that is now emboldened and
completely out of control. It is not surprising that the FDA
is seeking to eliminate competition to Big Pharma, they have
been doing that for much of the past century. What is surprising
is that they are openly stating in their final rule a plan that
directly eliminates small businesses from existence. This fascist
organization believes itself to be above the rule of law and
is actively working against America and the rights of Americans.
It must be stopped.
© 2007 Truth in Wellness, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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Byron J. Richards, Founder/Director of Wellness Resources,
is a Board-Certified Clinical Nutritionist and nationally-renowned
health expert, radio personality, and educator. He is the author
of Mastering Leptin, The Leptin Diet, and Fight for Your Health:
Exposing the FDA's Betrayal of America.
Richards encourages individuals to take charge of their health,
stand up for their health rights, and not blindly succumb to
propaganda from the vested-interests who profit from keeping
Americans sick. As founder of Wellness Resources, Inc. of Minneapolis,
MN, an independently-owned fine-quality dietary supplement company
since 1985, he has personally developed 75 unique nutraceutical-grade
nutritional formulas. www.wellnessresources.com
The FDA is Out of Control
The FDA is a tyrannical organization that is now emboldened
and completely out of control. It is not surprising that the
FDA is seeking to eliminate competition to Big Pharma, they have
been doing that for much of the past century. What is surprising
is that they are openly stating in their final rule a plan that
directly eliminates small businesses from existence. This fascist
organization believes itself to be above
the rule of law and is actively working against America and
the rights of Americans. It must be stopped.
Byron's Health Newsletter, E-mail: byron@truthinwellness.com
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