From: Lulu [demi111@qwest.net]
Sent: Tuesday, January 30, 2001 2:21 AM
To: fdadockets@oc.fda.gov
Subject: GE foods

Dear Commissioner Henney,

Hi, I have included the cookie cutter plea but in reality I would like
to convey to you what it is like to live with an autoimmune disorder as
well as multiple chemical sensitivities.  Imagine you can't move your
head off the pillow to greet your 16 month old granddaughter because
recently you had been exposed to something you did not know what, that
attacked your system without your knowledge.  Imagine not being able to
participate with your family when they have a baptism or a wedding or a
funeral because you are so sick from something you don't know what.
This is how I live from day to day and have so for 17 years.  I hope the
FDA and our government starts to seriously consider the ramifications of
continuing to allow our foods, personal care products and public places
to be inundated with harmful toxins. I cannot walk into a building in my
city without almost vomitting from the fumes given off from the
carpets, glues, paints and furnitures.  I realize you are hardly
concerned with a small percent of the population and the larger percent
is what concerns you, but think of this.....years down the road it could
be affecting the population on a very large scale because as we know,
the amount of people with these insidious disorders is growing
rapidly.   I spend a lot of money on organic products and it has made my
life bearable, without them I fear I would be either dead or in a
nursing home being cared for at a very young age.  What are the long
term effects of using genetically engineered foods in our systems that
were made for organic foods from our earth and not of our own design but
that of the earth.  I'm not sure I would like to find out as I have
found out those things that are let on our shelves have taken a heavy
toll on my system already.
Thank you for taking your time to consider the desires of the people.
Sincerely,
Lucinda Reynolds

The proposed Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations fail to
require labels or safety tests on genetically engineered (GE) food. The
new rules continue to deny Americans the right to know what is in our
food, while protecting the economic interests of biotech corporations.

Labeling GE foods would protect the public from potential health effects

that could only be traced if GE foods can be identified. By refusing to
require both labeling and mandatory safety testing of foods, the FDA
puts consumer's health at risk, and ignores the recommendations of the
Biotechnology Consultative Forum, who in December urged the US to
require mandatory labeling of GE foods.

I urge you to reconsider this proposal and insure that GE foods are
subject to pre-market testing and labeling. Americans have a right to
make informed decisions about the food we consume.

Sincerely,