Food Fight #11Just as there is strong evidence of increasing health and nutrition awareness, there is also a movement to limit individual choice and access to a number of self-health options, called supplements. The Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2010 seeks to limit options just as healthcare reform is supposed to create options.
More and more individuals are opting out of many non-foods and thus have less of a need for drugs. Many drugs have unsafe aspects but the unsafe part is minimized under the heading of side effects. If there is a public safety necessity to regulate supplements at all then simply have the providers list possible side effects rather than trying to eliminate supplements.
The US Department of Agriculture, US Department of Health & Human Services, US Food & Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency are supposed to have the best interests of citizens in mind. Yet, for starters, there are many dangerous pesticides allowed in farming and dangerous chemicals allowed in food. The government doesn't need any new oversight. It needs to trim down and properly administer its most critical responsibilities.
Against The Act:
Beware of the Dietary Supplement Safety Act, sponsored by Dherbs.com, a seller of supplements.
Sign Petition, sponsored by Life Extension, a seller of supplements. Capwiz, provides an email service to help advocacy groups reach government officials.
For The Act:
Sponsored by an athletic organization trying to deal with the problem of doping by athletes.
Additional Food Information:
Food, Inc. Documentary seen on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
One thing we must absolutely understand is that “FDA approved” is not a guarantee of safety. If it were, we wouldn't have to worry about what has been approved to be sold as food. Having the government make decisions for our health is like having a lion for a guard dog. It is a threat, not because of its natural desires, but because of the fatal belief that those desires can be kept subservient to its dedication.
Since we are taking control of our health, let's keep control by keeping the government from interfering. The government wants to regulate dietary supplements when they are doing a poor job of regulating safety of the dietary foundation - food. The only thing The Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2010 will do is allow for criminalization of natural medicines while ignoring the legalization of unnatural medicines that have been sold for decades. It will take away one of the supports a health hungry nation needs. Many more of us are now on the right path and I'm certain the trend is evident to those who sell that other stuff. Without natural options to create the health we seek, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness become less self-evident.
The Dietary Supplement Safety Act, just based on the name alone, implies the government is looking out for our safety. It implies they are being diligent and detailed. How about a Food Additives Safety Act, a Food Processing Safety Act, a Food Farming Safety Act, a Genetically Engineered Food Safety Act and so on? What do you think?
