From the January 2004 Idaho Observer:

The pharma-controlled Council for Responsible Nutrition

Revised from post at www.health-fx.net/news.php

The Council for Responsible Nutrition membership includes Bayer, BASF, Pfizer, Monsanto, and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. These are some of the heaviest hitters among the pharmaceutical industry. Naturally, they oppose competition, especially when their competition provides safer and more effective products.

For example, Wyeth previously dealt the popular diet drug Fen-phen. This was a combination of fenfluramine and phentermine. Since 1997, this appetite suppressant drug has been associated with the development of valvular heart disease. After a huge public outcry, the FDA finally removed it from the marketplace.

The Council for Responsible Nutrition also supports the banning of ephedra and all products containing ephedra or ephedrine. This fact alone may well sway millions of consumers into supporting the banning of ephedra. Simply by using the name -- Council for Responsible Nutrition -- most Americans will trust them as being the final authority on what nutritional products are safe, and which ones are not.

If the FDA gets away with this ban on ephedra, they will make their way down their hit list. This hit list includes but is not limited to Kava Kava, St. Johns Wort, Yohimbe, and DHEA. The FDA takes their orders from the pharmaceutical industry whose objective is to increase their profits, plain and simple.

To counter attack, many of these companies are vigorously studying alternatives. Most prominently, they are looking into ephedrine derivatives such as phenylpropanolamine, also known as norephedrine. Not surprisingly, many of the larger nutrition supplement companies support the proposed banning of ephedra as a means to secure their anticipated share of the market.

The heavy hitters don't stop there when it comes to securing a market. They want their share of the natural medicine sales as well. Thus, other members of the Council for Responsible Nutrition include Mannatech, NuSkin, Pharmanex, GNLD, HerbaLife, and Shaklee. This close association to drug companies has possibly corrupted their products and likely compromised their ability to fight for nutritional freedom.

Those who are involved with these MLM companies must not fall victim to the ephedra spin by blowing it off as “water under the bridge”. Since most companies already gave in to pharmaceutical pressure and political spin, many do not sell ephedra containing products. By acquiescing to pharmaceutical backed FDA pressure, they are ignoring the slow degradation of our nutritional rights. Here is the solution. Quit supporting these pharmaceutically controlled MLM companies and find a company who cares.

The International Advocates for Health Freedom (IAHF) have been investigating the activities of the pharma-controlled food and supplement industry trade associations for several years. The results of these investigations are available at the organization's website at www.iahf.com. The IAHF has also been on the frontlines lobbying for the the people's right to use vitamins, herbs and supplements without asking permission from government regulators and the pharmaceutical industry.

The Alliance for Natural Health can be found at www.alliance-natural-health.org for those who want to be kept current on the Codex showdown in Great Britain.