From: Center for Food Safety [action@foodsafetynow.org] Sent: Wednesday, April 04, 2001 1:18 PM To: FDA Commissioner Cc: president@whitehouse.gov; vice.president@whitehouse.gov; fdadockets@oc.fda.gov; fdadockets@oc.fda.gov Subject: Oppose the New FDA Regulations on GE Foods! FDA Commissioner Dockets Management Branch (HFA 305) Food and Drug Administration 5630 Fisher's Lane, rm. 1061 Rockville, MD 20852 RE: Docket No. 00N-1396, and 00D-1598 Dear FDA, My wife and I are “more than concerned” by your new policies on genetically engineered (GE) foods. Despite overwhelming consumer demand, your agency still fails to require safety testing and mandatory labeling for GE foods. Your “notification” policy is an insult to consumers, and irresponsibly ignores strong scientific evidence of numerous potential health and environmental risks to GE foods. You are, no doubt, already aware that these foods could be toxic, could cause allergic responses, could have lower nutrition value, could compromise immune responses in consumers, and could cause irreparable damage to the environment. As “baby boomers” (now into our fifties), these are some of our legitimate concerns -- not just for us, but for ALL Americans. We are also greatly opposed to your new “voluntary labeling” policy, which denies consumers a very basic “right to know”. We feel you should know: Without “mandatory” labeling, neither consumers nor health professionals will know if an allergic or toxic reaction was the result of a genetically engineered food. Consumers will also be deprived of the critical knowledge they will need, in order to hold food producers “accountable” -- should any of these novel foods prove hazardous. And SOMEONE needs to be “accountable”. Your proposed rules not only “ignore” serious concerns, but we believe they are decisions made to “convenience” industry at the expense of public health and the environment. We do not accept your attempt to make us (and other innocent Americans) “guinea pigs” of these untested foods, and we hope and pray you will take our concerns -- along with the thousands of others -- into serious consideration. Sincerely, Gary & Patricia Crisp Gary Crisp 1008 Chimney Ct. Mesquite, TX, 75181 CC: The President Vice President Dick Cheney FDA Dockets Management [Docket No. 00N-1396] Senator Phil Gramm Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison Representative Sam Johnson Representative Pete SessionsFDA Dockets Management [Docket No. 00D-1598] To the recipient -- this fax/email message has come to you via the Center for Food Safety web site -- a public tool for providing input on food safety issues. The user/site visitor had complete control over editing the content of this message. Thus, the opinions expressed in this message are not necessarily those of CFS or its parent organization, ICTA. Please contact CFS at (202)547-9359 or email office@centerforfoodsafety.org with any questions. Thank you. ___________________________________________________________________________ This letter was composed at www.foodsafetynow.org, a web site maintained by: The Center for Food Safety, 666 Pennsylvania Ave, SE, Suite 302 Washington, DC 20003 PH: (202)547-9359 Fax: (202)547-9429 Email: office@centerforfoodsafety.org web: www.centerforfoodsafety.org