On July 3rd, the day before the holiday commemorating the Declaration of Independence, which proclaims our God-given inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA), without input of the public, and in the convenient cover of a distracted public and claiming the authority of the disingenuously named "Food Safety Modernization Act" (FSMA), has usurped a key component of our health - the right to use supplements. The FDA did this by issuing new guidelines for the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) that call for a New Dietary Ingredient (NDI) protocol. The NDI would essentially ban supplements. Any supplements that remain on the market would be only produced by businesses with the finances to afford the process. The supplements would be extremely expensive in the absence of alternatives and to recoup the costs. Any supplements that remain would have to appeal to a very wide market; specialized supplements that appeal to a few would be non-existent. Indeed, earlier this year, when the FDA granted approval to one company for a prenatal supplement that had been compounded by for decades, all others were compelled by the FDA to cease and desist- raising the price of the supplement to hundreds of dollars. When the sweet tasting herb, Stevia, was introduced to the US in the 1990s, the FDA attempted to stamp it out with harassment, fines and even burning the business owner's books!     

These are some of the things the new onerous, punitive NDI regulations require:

• Supplements made since 1994 will have to come off the market until approved by the FDA.
• Supplements that have changed in composition, process, recommended usage or even label since 1994 must also be approved.
• New brands must also be approved as an NDI, even if the exact same ingredients, formulations or processes have been approved for another manufacturer.

Keep in mind that many supplements, such as Resveratrol, were not around prior to 1994. Unapproved substances can be confiscated and destroyed by the FDA and violators can face fines and prison. Obtaining the required approval is extremely expensive, time consuming and burdensome. The FDA cannot possibly process the paperwork of those that would file. As if this was not enough, the FDA is launching with the Department of Homeland Security, an effort to crack down on imports- so one can't even obtain their supplements overseas!

The NDI regulation will have an adverse effect on the economy. It will not only put supplement manufacturers out of business, it will also destroy ingredient producers, wildcrafters, small farmers, health food stores, nutritionists, naturopaths, chiropractors, home based businesses and numerous others that depend on supplements for their livelihood -and these are mostly small businesses, the backbone of the economy. We don't need this, especially not with a 9% unemployment rate! 

The FDA has absolutely no regard for human life, the Constitution or ethics. They have time and time again demonstrated themselves to be a bunch of Fascists, Bullies and Terrorists. This is not hyperbole- I mean this in the true sense of these words. So, now that the government has taken over and restricted our access to conventional medicine (ultimately destroying it with scarce doctors, limited financial and medical resources and unimaginably long waits), the government has moved to destroy natural medicine as well! As one who takes multivitamins, probiotics and adaptogens to cope with gluten intolerance and as one who daily risks exposure to Lyme disease, this is literally a matter of life and death for me. 

Sources: 

http://www.naturalnews.com/032924_dietary_supplements_FDA_approval.html                                                                                        

http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm261550.htm  

http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/GuidanceDocuments/DietarySupplements/ucm257563.htm  

http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm261672.htm  

http://lewrockwell.com/sardi/sardi180.html

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=xprnw.20110705.DC30216&show_article=1

http://www.personalliberty.com/conservative-politics/civil-liberty/the-fdas-war-on-dietary-supplements/