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NEWS ... GLOBAL NEWS ... OVER 5000 US PATENTS ARE VITAMIN & MINERAL DEFICIENCIES WIDESPREAD IN UK, EUROPE Byes increasingly suggests that vitamin and mineral deficiencies are widespread in igures released by the US Patent and the European Union. A recent report, for example, suggests that up to 3.6 million Trademark Office show that secrecy | people in the UK now suffer from malnutrition. As a result, according to the British orders were applied to 128 patents in the Association for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, malnutrition currently costs the UK's year to October 2007, taking the total to | National Health Service more than £7.3 billion (Euro 10.8 billion/US$14.8 billion) a year. 5,002. Of the new orders, 53 were on With the estimates suggesting that up to six per cent of the British population could be private inventors, against 29 in 2006. suffering from serious vitamin and mineral deficiencies, and UK hospital figures showing The US Invention Secrecy Act of 1951 | malnutrition to be found in all age groups including newborn babies, one has to question allows US military and intelligence | the wisdom of an upcoming proposal from the European Commission—the European agencies to impose a gagging order on any | Union's executive body—that threatens to ban thousands of vitamin and mineral patent—whether from a commercial R&D | supplements from being sold in Europe. After all, it's not as if the problem of nutritional or a garage inventor—if its publication | deficiencies is only confined to the UK. threatens national security. The secrecy In 1997, for example, a report by the European Commission into nutrient intake in orders require inventors not to reveal details | European Union Member States concluded that "for almost all vitamins, minerals and trace of their inventions in any way—or risk two _| elements, there exist one or more population groups with intakes below nationally years in prison. recommended levels". People thought to be particularly at risk included: women; "I suspect that the oldest secret patents | adolescents or children; the elderly; women during the periconceptual period; people on a date back to the early days of nuclear | diet for losing weight; people on vegetarian diets; people having allergies to foods; persons weapons," says Steven Aftergood, who | eating a high proportion of "fast foods" or "junk foods"; and others. tracks government secrecy issues for the The nutrients found to be most often deficient included iron, iodine and vitamins B2, B6 Federation of American Scientists. "There and D—and this, despite the fact that in many cases, with the exception of iodine, they are certain technologies that have not | Were already being added to some foods as mandatory fortificants. ceased to be sensitive despite the passage of Given the widespread nature of nutrient deficiencies in Europe, naturopathic doctors, 50 or 60 years." natural health experts and millions of consumers are currently up in arms over the fact that (Source: New Scientist, 18 October 2007) the European Commission is preparing to propose, before the end of this year, restrictions on the maximum permitted levels of vitamins and minerals in food supplements. LINK BETWEEN MICROWAVE Ignoring independent studies showing that the nutrient content of our food has fallen OVENS AND OBESITY? substantially over the past few decades, as well as an abundance of knowledge and icrowave ovens may be to blame for scientific data on vitamins and nutrition that has been available for 50, 60, 70 and even 80 kick-starting the obesity epidemic in| Yeats, it is widely expected that the levels the Commission is planning will be highly the USA, the UK and Australia. restrictive and far below those that are necessary to achieve and maintain optimum health. If these expectations are correct, therefore, the legal enforcement of such levels will result in the enactment of Europe-wide bans upon literally thousands of food supplement products, some of which have been sold and consumed safely for decades. Not for the first time, however, the European Commission's plans are openly at odds with some of its previous assurances. In 2002, for example, during the run-up to the adoption by the European Parliament of the controversial Food Supplements Directive, the then European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, David Byrne, published a message on the Internet, on behalf of the Commission, in which he claimed that "[t]he aim is not to ban food supplements, as some have alleged". Byrne's message was published in response to the large number of letters that the Commission had received from citizens who were concerned about the Directive and who were opposed to its adoption. Notably, therefore, Byrne specifically stated in this message that "[t]here is no doubt that most of the products marketed today are safe and of the expected quality". As such, if the maximum levels for vitamins and minerals that the Commission proposes turn out to be as low as some observers are claiming they will be, many consumers of food supplements will quite reasonably conclude that the Commission knowingly intends to ban products that it considers to be safe. Perhaps mindful of the large numbers of European citizens who oppose the Food Supplements Directive, Byme chose to end his message as follows: "I can assure you that your interests and those of consumers in general were at the top of our concerns when we ‘ ie ' proposed the Directive. I believe that you have every right to have a wide choice of safe food and activity world at that time, and one | and appropriately labelled food supplements available, to buy if you so wish. And I remain of the striking changes was there were | convinced that the Directive that will be shortly formally adopted by the European differences in the speed with which we | Parliament and the Council of Ministers will ensure that.” could prepare a meal as a consequence of When the maximum levels are eventually announced, therefore, European citizens will the introduction of microwave [ovens]." finally discover whether Byrne and the Commission were telling the truth, or whether—as (Source: BBC News, 6 June 2007, some have alleged—their real aim was to ban supplements and they were lying all along. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/prifr/-/2Mi/health/ | (Source: by Paul A. Taylor, Dr Rath Health Foundation, http://www4.dr-rath-foundation. 6725775.stm) org/THE_FOUNDATIONAitamin_and_mineral_deficiencies_are_widespread.html) Professor Jane Wardle, professor of clin- ical psychology at University College, London, says that obesity rates started to rise soon after 1984—around the time of the rapid spread in microwave oven owner- ship. The mid-1980s also saw the first ready-made meals appearing in shops. In 1980, 8% of women and 6% of men were Classified as obese. By 2004, this percentage had increased to more than a quarter of all women and men. Children are also suffering from increased levels of obesity, with 16% of those aged 2-15 classed as obese in 2003 compared with 10-12% in 1995. Prof. Wardle said: "I looked at the figures showing rates of obesity in the population over many years and it seemed very clear it began between 1984 and 1987. So then we looked at what changes were going on in the igures released by the US Patent and Trademark Office show that secrecy orders were applied to 128 patents in the year to October 2007, taking the total to 5,002. Of the new orders, 53 were on private inventors, against 29 in 2006. The US Invention Secrecy Act of 1951 allows US military and_ intelligence agencies to impose a gagging order on any patent—whether from a commercial R&D or a garage inventor—if its publication threatens national security. The secrecy orders require inventors not to reveal details of their inventions in any way—or risk two years in prison. "I suspect that the oldest secret patents date back to the early days of nuclear weapons," says Steven Aftergood, who tracks government secrecy issues for the Federation of American Scientists. "There are certain technologies that have not ceased to be sensitive despite the passage of 50 or 60 years." (Source: New Scientist, 18 October 2007) NEXUS +9 DECEMBER 2007 — JANUARY 2008 www.nexusmagazine.com