Hawaii Aspartame Battle: House Health Committee Decision Friday

PR Log (Press Release) – Feb 05, 2008 – The first make-or-break hurdle for the aspartame legislation comes up in Hawaii on Friday, in a hearing before the House Health Committee, Room 329 at 8 A.M. The identical bill sponsored by Senator Kalani English and by Senator Chun-Oakland will soon be before the Hawaii Senate, but how it fares in the House will have a huge affect on what happens in the Hawaii Senate, based on our experience in New Mexico with similar legislation.  

I ask this kind favor of your readers, to please use their influence by writing an email to and calling the House Health Committee members, to ask for a “Do Pass” for this vital, urgent, and long overdue legislation.

The House Bill # is 2680; the reason that I ask this derives from my experience in the New Mexico Senate last year and in 2006 when corporate lobbyists representing Ajinomoto (the Japanese manufacturer and largest in the world for both aspartame and yet another proven neurotoxic food additive: MSG) plus lobbyists from Coca Cola, Pepsi, Altria, and others eviscerated and killed our New Mexico bill, one of the best consumer protection bills in New Mexico's history. Of course, they will try to do this again in the Hawaii House Health Committee; they will also in the Senate Health Committee, using every excuse possible: corporate theories about federal pre-emption, laments from the Diabetic Association which should know better, given the dreadful effects aspartame has on diabetics (I speak from very personal experience within my own immediate family on that one); pathetic perfidies about how aspartame may have been proved safe by 200
industry-paid-for studies, etc.

This is the saddest single truth of all about this neurotoxic and carcinogenic artificial sweetener: aspartame's approval was originally forced through the FDA process by Donald Rumsfeld when he was going from CEO of the patent holder, Searle, to Reagan's Transition Team, by making some kind of private deal with the FDA commissioner-to be, Arthur Hull Hayes, despite the FDA having turned down the approval for the prior 15 years! If you want to read more, just Google "Rumsfeld's Bioweapon Legacy." You can also Google and read definitive articles by H.J. Roberts, Internist; Russell Blaylock, Neurosurgeon, and Betty Martini, Founder of Mission Possible International. My own favorite is “Aspartame Disease: An FDA Approved Epidemic.”

Remember above all that Hawaii has the obligation to protect the health of its citizens, regardless of what corporate lobbyists say or how much the FDA continues to fail all Americans.

If you have any questions, please let me know. I will try to answer personally each and every question.

Time is of the essence, and letters on Wednesday have a better chance of being read than letters to Representatives on Thursday. Thank you.

Respectfully,
Stephen Fox
stephen@santafefineart.com

P.S.: The top of the letter must include: for Hearing in Room #329,  8 A.M., Friday Feb. 8 ADDRESSED TO HON. JOSH GREEN M.D., VICE CHAIR, JOHN MIZUNO, AND MEMBER OF THE COMMITTEE
Should also say:  PLEASE XEROX AS COMMITTEE HANDOUT FOR THIS HEARING.
________________________________

HOUSE HEALTH COMMITTEE:

Josh Green, M.D.
6th Representative District
Hawaii State Capitol, Room 327
415 South Beretania Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
phone 808-586-9605; fax 808-586-9608
>From the Big Island, toll free 974-4000 + 69605
E-mail repgreen@Capitol.hawaii.gov

______________

John Mizuno
30th Representative District
Hawaii State Capitol, Room 436
415 South Beretania Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
phone 808-586-6050; fax 808-586-6051
E-mail repmizuno@Capitol.hawaii.gov

  ----

Karen Leinani Awana
44th Representative District
Hawaii State Capitol, Room 319
415 South Beretania Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
phone 808-586-8465; fax 808-586-8469
E-mail repawana@Capitol.hawaii.gov

______________________

Della Au Belatti

25th Representative District
Hawaii State Capitol, Room 331
415 South Beretania Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
Phone 808-586-9425; fax 808-586-9431
email repbelatti@Capitol.hawaii.gov

_______________________

Joe Bertram, III
11th Representative District
Hawaii State Capitol, Room 311
415 South Beretania Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
phone 808-586-8525; fax 808-586-8529
>From Maui, toll free 984-2400 + 68525
e-mail repbertram@Capitol.hawaii.gov

__________________________

Rida T.R. Cabanilla
42nd Representative District
Hawaii State Capitol, Room 442
415 South Beretania Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
phone 808-586-6080; fax 808-586-6081
E-mail repcabanilla@Capitol.hawaii.gov

_____________________________________

Karl Rhoads
28th Representive District
Hawaii State Capitol, Room 326
415 South Beretania Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
phone 808-586-6180; fax 808-586-6189
e-mail reprhoads@Capitol.hawaii.gov

_______________________________________

James Kunane Tokioka
15th Representative District
Hawaii State Capitol, Room 322
415 South Beretania Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
phone 808-586-6270; fax 808-586-6271
>From Kauai, toll free 274-3141 + 66270
e-mail reptokioka@Capitol.hawaii.gov

__________________________________

Gene Ward, Ph.D.
17th Representative District
Hawaii State Capitol, Room 318
415 South Beretania Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
phone 808-586-6420; fax 808-586-6421
E-mail repward@Capitol.hawaii.gov