Civil Liberties, Health Care, Food Policies

Stimulus Bill Raises Concerns Over Government Rationing of Health Care

February 13, 2009

Two provisions in President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus plan could give the federal government the authority to oversee the medical decisions made between doctors and patients, critics warn, which could result in the rationing of health care. The plan to make all health records electronic and establish an effectiveness board to review health care costs was part of the $838 billion economic stimulus bill that passed the Senate Tuesday...

Is a New Food Policy on Obama’s List?

December 23, 2008

Although Mr. Obama has proposed changes in the nation’s farm and rural policies and emphasizes the connection between diet and health, there is nothing to indicate he has a special interest in a radical makeover of the way food is grown and sold. Still, the dream endures. To advocates who have watched scattered calls for changes in food policy gather political and popular momentum, Mr. Obama looks like their kind of president.

Not only does he seem to possess a more-sophisticated palate than some of his recent predecessors, but he will also take office in an age when organic food is mainstream, cooking competitions are among the top-rated TV shows and books calling for an overhaul in the American food system are best sellers.

“People are so interested in a massive change in food and agriculture that they are dining out on hope now. That is like the main ingredient,” said Eddie Gehman Kohan, a blogger from Los Angeles who started Obamafoodorama.com to document just about any conceivable link between Mr. Obama and food, whether it is a debate on agriculture policy or an image of Mr. Obama rendered in tiny cupcakes. “He is the first president who might actually have eaten organic food, or at least eats out at great restaurants,” Ms. Gehman Kohan said.

Still, no one is sure just how serious Mr. Obama really is about the politics of food. So like mystery buffs studying the book jacket of “The Da Vinci Code,” interested eaters dissect every aspect of his life as it relates to the plate.

Doctors Aid Group Lists Top 10 Humanitarian Crises

December 22, 2008

Reuters - Doctors Without Borders issued a top 10 list of humanitarian crises on Monday that included Congo, Somalia, Iraq and Sudan as well as what it called "neglected medical emergencies" in Myanmar and Zimbabwe. The international medical aid group said its list underscored the difficulties in bringing assistance to people affected by violence, especially highly politicized conflicts such as those in Pakistan, Iraq, Sudan and Somalia.

The eighth country on the list was Ethiopia, where Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, said violence and harsh climactic conditions made living a struggle for people in the Somali region of the country. The other two crises on the list were not in particular countries, but rather cross-border problems.

"The lack of global attention to the growing prevalence of HIV-tuberculosis co-infection and the critical need for increased global efforts to prevent and treat childhood malnutrition, the underlying cause of death for up to five million children per year, are also included," MSF said in a statement about the list, which was not in order of gravity.

The group said its medical teams witnessed firsthand the consequences of violence, displacement and neglected yet treatable diseases and health needs around the world. "Many of the countries on this year's list illustrate the ever-shrinking space for impartial humanitarian action, making it extremely difficult to deliver aid to those most affected and vulnerable," said MSF International Council President Christophe Fournier.

He said MSF had been forced to curtail its work in Somalia because of direct attacks, and aid workers helping hundreds of thousands of people displaced by air attacks in northwest Pakistan had taken similar steps after threats and attacks.

In Myanmar and Zimbabwe, MSF blamed the governments for failing to provide adequate health care or assist aid workers. "In Myanmar, where MSF is the main provider of HIV care, hundreds of thousands of people are needlessly dying due to a severe lack of HIV/AIDS treatment while the government does far too little to help its own people," the statement said. Zimbabwe is battling one of the worst cholera epidemics in its history at a time of political paralysis that Western countries blame on President Robert Mugabe.

Codex Guidelines for Vitamin and Mineral Food Supplements

The Codex Alimentarius (Latin for "food code" or "food book") is a collection of internationally recognized standards, codes of practice, guidelines and other recommendations relating to foods, food production and food safety. These texts are developed and maintained by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, a body that was established in 1963 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The Commission's main aims are stated as being to protect the health of consumers and ensure fair practices in the international food trade. The Codex Alimentarius is recognized by the World Trade Organization as an international reference point for the resolution of disputes concerning food safety and consumer protection.

The 28th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission was subsequently held July 4 - July 9, 2005. Among the many issues discussed were the "Guidelines for Vitamin and Mineral Food Supplements," which were adopted during the meeting as a voluntary reference standard. This text has been the subject of considerable controversy, in part because many member countries may choose to regulate dietary supplements as therapeutic goods or pharmaceuticals or by some other category. The text does not seek to ban supplements, but to subject them to labeling and packaging requirements and to ensure that safety and efficacy are considered when determining the ingredient source.

The Guidelines have attracted concern from both consumers and industry due to a perception that there may be restrictions on vitamins and minerals as dietary supplements. The health freedom movement has pointed to greater concerns related to restrictions on dietary supplement ingredients in Europe via the European Union's Food Supplements Directive (which utilizes approved lists of ingredients and ingredient forms) and potentially restrictive dosage limits to be based on a Codex model via the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO) Nutrient Risk Assessment Project.

Texas Republican Rep. Ron Paul meanwhile has said that the Central American Free Trade Agreement "increases the possibility that Codex regulations will be imposed on the American public."

The Organic Consumers Association claims to help sort the facts from the fiction.