Letter of Anna Falcone to Mueller of the EU Parliament regarding directive on food supplements

To Emilia Mueller
cc: Members of the European Parliament
President of the Council Silvio Berlusconi
President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi

Dear Mrs. Mueller,

I am an Italian citizen and thus a European citizen, since this has been decided by our governors!

I am writing you because I understand that you played a major role in the approval procedure of the Food Supplements directive and because I read in Rapporteur dated 15/3/2002 that you “were clearly upset by the many calls etc inviting you to reject the directive”.

Well, I myself am very upset but for the reason that I think that we, the citizens, have contacted you, the politicians, too little if not at all. We, citizens, are for most of the time sleeping (or silent) while you, the politicians, decide how to rule our lives. The funny thing is that the sleeping (silent) citizens are the ones who granted this power to you politicians and, as if this was not enough, we even PAY YOU!

I think you are a lucky person because you got very few calls compared to what you would get if we, the citizens, knew what was going on. As I said the majority of us sleeps (or is silent) most of the time, not because we are stupid but because you are working very hard to keep us busy on trying to solve our day to day problems and difficulties, the ones that YOU are supposed to solve.

Further I understand that you, and the majority of the European Parliament, are convinced that this directive is thought for the benefit of us citizens. I want to believe in your bona fide intentions, but the question that arises is: “How did you find that out?” I am 52 years old and like the majority of the citizens, I’m not active in any political party and I never have been, the result of this is that the majority of us gets to know about new legislation and rules when we infringe them! At this point we are even told that we have the DUTY to know the rules, so again it is our fault, and again WE PAY YOU.

I wonder if politicians, when working on new legislation, always consider that “if nobody says something it means that they agree” (in Italy we call this the rule of "agreement by silence"). But how do you expect that we say something about what we don’t know?

I know, at the end of the story, that this legislation was started back in year 2000. Who told me? We, the citizens, have granted you, the politicians, the power to set rules for the good government of a State, and don’t forget, WE PAY YOU FOR THIS SERVICE. Don’t you agree with me that therefore WE have the RIGHT to know in advance what you are going to work on, and YOU have the DUTY to inform us?

The information we need is real information, not opinions or half truths or one sided specialist advice. I believe we are able to understand what is good or not for us when we are given the full data and thus we will be able to give you the correct indication on what to work on and how.

Talking about Europe, who told us exactly what was going to happen? Who told us what would be for us, the citizens, the benefits of the European Community and the change from our local currency to a European currency? Most likely you couldn’t say because for my experience and knowledge there are none. I’m talking about we, common people, the majority.

So I come to the conclusion that you, the politicians, are there to work mainly for the interest of “business” and international “convenience” while telling us, the citizens, that you work for our wellness and safety!

Really - where were you, when the “meat business” decided to feed the cows with the carcasses of their ill similars? Where were you when the psychiatrists were keeping people, I mean HUMAN BEINGS in lagers subjecting them to indescribable torture and experiments? I don’t think I need to go on (I should write a book of memories). I guess you got the point!

I’m not going to tell you what are the things that really bother us. The questions that are important for our wellness and safety, you should find that out by yourself, it is a part of your job.

I started to use food supplements and other natural ingredients, more than 25 years ago and I can assure you I’ve not been harmed at all. I’ve not been using pharmaceuticals since that time if not for a couple of times when I had to go to a hospital where I could not decide for myself. And there, believe me by heart, I HAVE BEEN HARMED! You could say I’m just an example, but this would be a lie because we both know that there are millions like me, they just have to stand up and speak.

I’m also trying to keep my son 27 years old, who is handicapped, out of reach from the medical mafia but unfortunately with little success. You see, because I need to work in order to survive and my son needs 100% assistance, I’m forced to keep him in an institute during the week. He would need no medication at all and in fact when he is at home, in the weekend and for longer period when I can stay home with him I know he needs NOTHING, if not attention and love, to be calm, relaxed and live a decent life. This is not the case when he is in the institute where at every little trouble he is given medications (psycopharmacs). Do they do that for the wellness and health of my son? NO they do it because this way they (the assistants) are safe! And here comes again the class of psychiatry that sees no other solution but that of keeping those human beings asleep.

I’m aware that you cannot keep everybody happy in doing your job. We are so many and have different aims, beliefs and knowledge, so one rule that is good for some will not be for others. But what you can and MUST do is to ensure that every one of us keeps their constitutional rights intact.

My neighbour believes that pharmaceutical medicines are safe and secure, because he trusts the conventional medical organisation, so he will continue to take his aspirin when he has a flu. I deserve the right to take what I think is better for me, vitamin C, Echinacea or whatever and I wouldn’t like these products to come from pharmaceutical companies because I believe that they aim for my illness, not my wellness, or they would go broke. Have you ever heard of a pharmaceutical company going broke? As far as I know this is the most lucrative business, and their profit comes from illness, how can we expect that they aim for our good health?

To end, I’m sorry for being so nasty in my writing, nothing personal with you, I actually don’t even know you so you might be a beautiful person. You are however one of those who are thinking that in approving the food supplement directive, you have safeguarded the citizen and I DON’T LIKE TO BE FOOLED!

I hope that my letter will, at least, give you something to reflect on. I wish that you do your job always keeping in mind for WHO you are working and I wish that you can look into your eyes and say “I DESERVE THE POSITION AND PRIVILEGE I HAVE BEEN GRANTED AS WELL AS THE FEE I’M GETTING PAID FROM CITIZENS BECAUSE IN DOING MY JOB I TAKE AS THE MOST IMPORTANT POINT THEIR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS”.

A warm hello from Italy, CIAO!

Anna Falcone