New Mexico Begins Legislative Process To Ban
Aspartame
Fifteen state senators sponsored a bill to rid
New Mexico of what some have called "Rumsfeld's Disease."
20 Jan 2006
By
Greg Szymanski
A senate bill to
rid
New Mexico
of what has been called "Rumsfeld's Disease" was introduced Thursday
by Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino, D-Albuquerque, as 15 other senators from both
sides of isle also signed on, supporting legislation to ban the deadly
artificial sweetener, aspartame.
Linked to Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for his efforts in the 1970s for putting the
sweetener on the market,
New Mexico
is the first state to consider banning the artificial additive linked to
numerous ill-health affects, including cancer.
If passed, no
food containing any amount of the sweetener could be manufactured, sold or
delivered in Mew
Mexico
, beginning July 1.
After the bill
was introduced Thursday morning, Sen. Ortiz y Pino, appearing on Greg
Szymanski's radio show, The Investigative Journal, said he needs support from
six more senators for passage if the anti-aspartame legislation makes its way
for a vote during the short 30-day legislative session.
The
Albuquerque
democrat also said the bill needs to be put on the "governor's call
list" in order for it to be heard, remaining optimistic since Gov. Bill
Richardson has expressed strong concern about the health hazards of aspartame
in the past.
"I decided
to introduce this bill, despite strong opposition by lobbyists because it is
the right thing to do and many of my constituents feel the artificial
sweetener is dangerous," said Sen. Ortiz y Pino while appearing on The
Investigative Journal.
"I am very
optimistic that the banning of aspartame will be passed into law since 15
senators signed on with me to support the bill. I know of one other who has
said he join us, leaving only six more votes to get it passed in the senate if
it comes to a vote this session."
Besides the
senate bill,
New Mexico
's House of Representatives has also introduced a similar bill, House Bill
202, calling for the same ban on aspartame.
The House version
of the bill was introduced by
Gallup
democrat, Irvin Harrison, who claims the measure, if passed, "means a
vital national and international precedent would be set, one which could
precipitate a new era of consumer protection in the
United States
and other nations."
New Mexico
resident and Santa Fe art gallery owner Stephen Fox has been one of the main
activists pushing to raise public awareness and outlaw the use of the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved additive.
Fox and many
others trying to ban aspartame have for years been trying to warn unsuspecting
users of the dangers, saying aspartame contains "poisonous and deadly
toxins."
Before
legislation was introduced, Fox tried to get aspartame banned through the
state's Environmental Improvement Board (EIB), but after pressure from
aspartame lobbyists, postponed any action on Fox's request until July.
The New Mexico
Legislature established the EIB in 1978 to handle rules on the state's food
and water supply, liquid waste, air quality and radiation control. However,
any action by the legislature to ban aspartame would supersede an EIB ruling.
Although the EIB
said in October that it had the necessary power to handle Fox's petition,
on Nov. 9, the board backtracked,
asking in writing for Attorney General Patricia Madrid's opinion on
whether state law gives it the authority to regulate aspartame and whether the
board could carry out Fox's request to outlaw or put warning labels on
products that contain the sweetener. The board has not received an answer from
Madrid
.
Regarding the
adverse health affects from aspartame, a recent report from a highly respected
international medical team has now linked the toxins in aspartame to lymphomas
and leukemias.
The report by
Morando Soffritti "Aspartame induces lymphomas and leukemias in
rats" is in the European Journal of Oncology for July, 2005. Dr. Sofritti
is a member of the European Ramazzini Foundation of Oncology and Environmental
Sciences Cancer Research Centre in
Bologna
,
Italy
.
As reported, Dr.
Soffritti and his team carefully set the conditions whereby
genetically-uniform test rats were treated equally with the exception of being
divided into groups given varying levels of the toxic chemical sweetener.
According to
health experts, rats are deemed appropriate subjects for testing aspartame on
humans because both humans and rats metabolize the methyl ester in aspartame
into methyl alcohol, then formaldehyde then formic acid - all deadly poisons.
Neurosurgeon
Russell Blaylock, MD, one of the world's leading authorities on aspartame
neuro toxicity, extensively reviewed the Soffritti report.
"This
study confirmed the previous study by Dr. Trocho and co-workers (1998), which
also found the formaldehyde breakdown product of aspartame to be damaging to
cellular DNA and that this damage was cumulative," said Dr. Blaylock.
"The type of damage was a duplicate of that associated with cancers.
These two studies strongly indicate that drinking a single diet cola sweetened
with aspartame every day could significantly increase one's risk of developing
a lymphoma or leukemia.
"This study
should terrify mothers and all those consuming aspartame sweetened products.
This was a carefully done study which clearly demonstrated a statistically
significant increase in several types of lymphomas and leukemias in rats. Both
of these malignancies have increased significantly in this country since the
widespread use of aspartame.
"They also
found an increased incidence of malignant brain tumors, even though it was not
statistically significant. This does not mean there is no association to brain
tumors, since ONLY the animals exposed to aspartame developed the tumors. With
children and pregnant women drinking the largest amount of diet colas, this
puts their children at the greatest risk of developing one of these horrible
diseases. Their found that even lower doses of aspartame could cause these
malignancies, yet, the higher the dose, the more cancers that were seen.
"Since
aspartame can increase obesity and may even cause the metabolic syndrome that
affects 48 million Americans, there is no reason to ever consume this product.
At the least, it should be immediately banned from all schools."
For more
informative articles, go to www.arcticbeacon.com
There will be a new updated film
coming out around Jan. 24th 2006. Check
Here to order the DVD and for more info. What you see playing above is
just a clip from the film. Don't ask me for a copy. You must contact this
website.
If the film does not play, click
here to open your Media player. This is in windows wmv format
Documentary That Challenges Aspartame Industry Finds A Sweet Deal
LOS ANGELES – The documentary film “Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World", a cult hit amongst anti-aspartame advocates, will receive distribution through Cinema Libre Studio. The documentary challenges industry-led claims of aspartame's safety. Cinema Libre Studio, known for producing and distributing films that challenge the status quo, has penned a deal with Sound and Fury Productions, for home entertainment rights. Title will street December 6th,
“Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World” follows filmmaker Cori Brackett on her journey to uncover the truth about aspartame after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis following a period of heavy consumption of diet soda. As she began to research her own health issues, she came across a morass of “facts” and “myths” surrounding the controversial food-additive. Determined to find the truth, Brackett crisscrossed the United States interviewing doctors, medical professionals, lawyers, researchers and anti-aspartame activists. The results are profoundly disturbing.
“Sweet Misery” unveils one of the most pervasive, insidious forms of corporate negligence in the history of the industrial revolution: the “revolving doors” practices between the FDA and powerful corporations such as Monsanto-subsidiary, Searle. Upon detailed examination of the process for approving aspartame by the FDA, the film connects Donald Rumsfeld, currently United States Secretary of Defense, to the scene of the crime. Rumsfeld, then CEO of Searle, was part of Reagan's transition team when the FDA's board of inquiry was overruled by Arthur Hull Hayes, the newly appointed FDA Commissioner, thereby allowing the marketing of aspartame as a food additive. "'Sweet Misery' has the right mix of political intrigue and corporate deception,” says Brackett. “It is yet another example of multi-national corporations’ disregard for the individual."
Cinema Libre Studio, the independent distribution company known for distributing films such as "WMD:Weapons of Mass Deception," "McLibel," "Uncovered: The War On Iraq," and "The Future of Food,” has helped to foster and grow the audience for hard-hitting documentaries and feature films that reveal what’s really happening behind the curtain of corporate controlled media and Hollywood happy-endings.
"We're proud to belong to such an important catalog of films," states Brackett, who is a co-owner of Sound and Fury Productions, Inc., a Tucson-based video and film production company. "Sweet Misery" will be reintroduced as an improved version with a re-mixed soundtrack, new footage and educational tools for the December 6th street date with an SRP of $24.95.
