Will the UN's Codex Alimentarius make our food less nutritious?

Imagine this: a Nazi war criminal establishes a secretive organisation embedded within the United Nations through which shadowy corporate interests force countries to remove the nutritional value from food, allowing food companies to profit from spreading malnutrition.

It sounds like fantasy but this is the essence of the accusations that have been levelled at the Codex Alimentarius over the years.  This body, whose Latin name means "Food Rules" is indeed run by the United Nations, but beyond that most of the lurid accusations can be rejected out of hand.

However there are countless organisations and agencies which run under the aegis of the United Nations; what makes this one so special that wild myths and theories circulate so abundantly about its true purpose?

Origins

The Codex Alimentarius was established in 1962 as a joint venture between the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Health Organisation. Its aim is to establish internationally agreed food standards in order to protect consumers' health and facilitate the international food trade.

All but a...

To view the rest of this article - you must be a paying subscriber and Login