Fda Tries To Outlaw Vitamins

"The label says the U.S. Government's Board on Nutrition has rated this soup 'Mm, Mm, Good!'..."

FDA Tries To Outlaw Vitamins   

   Eighty per cent of the vitamins now commercially available will be reclassified as "drugs" and become obtainable only through a prescription, starting January 1, 1975. This new Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation has been temporarily delayed until that date so that Congress can hear debate on changing the law.      Opposition to the FDA law in the Senate is being led by Senator William Proxmire (D-Wis.) who has noted that easily accessible vitamins are needed to make up for the lack of nutrition in many of our foods. The FDA has refused to open up research on the subject of the nutritional value of the available manufactured foods.   

  In their booklet entitled "Nutritional Quackery" the FDA insists in part, "the truth is that the American food supply is unsurpassed in the world for both quantity and nutritional value- our farming and food processing industries have provided the American people with an ever-increasing variety of wholesome and nutritious foods. "But according to many nutritionists, a large variety of food in the supermarkets, most of the ready-made breads, cereals, soups, dinners, lunch meats, etc. are less than "wholesome and nutritious." Processed foods contain chemical fertilizers, chemical additives, and preservatives, and often have been cooked in ways that destroy much of their nutritional value.   

   National Food Supply, a 1966 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) publication, stated that 44% of the average daily calorie intake by Americans was fat which is almost devoid of any vitamin or mineral content. Fifty percent or more of this consumption is in the form of white flour and white sugar, which is highly deficient in nutrients due to the refining process. Less than 10% of the average calories consumed are vegetables, meat, fish, eggs, or dairy products, which should supply close to 100% of our daily essential nutrients.                                                                                             

   In 1968, the USDA announced that only 50% of American families had a "good" diet, 30% rated fair and 20% rated poor. This showed a decline in the nutritional value of American dietary habits compared to a 1955 survey made by the department.

  The Food and Nutrition Board, which determines the recommended daily allowance of vitamins and minerals is, according to Proxmire "influenced. dominated, and financed by the food industry. It represents one of the most scandalous conflicts of interest in the federal government." At the 1 969 White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, and Health, which made proposals for nutritional education, the chairman, W. W. Murphy, was also chairman of the Campbell's Soup Company.

   Proxmire also notes that "with low recommended daily allowances, the food companies which advise the Food and Nutrition Board can print tables on their food packages making their products appear to contain a higher level of nutrients than if higher or optimum levels were established." He adds in another statement;  "the FDA and much though not all of the orthodox medical profession ... are out to get the health food industry and to drive the health food stores out of business."

--LNS