From: palookaland@aol.com
Sent: Friday, April 06, 2001 4:26 PM
To: fdadockets@oc.fda.gov
Subject: What's in your food? (FDA Dockets 00N-1396 and 00D-1598)


Dear Corporate and Government Leaders,

Neither government nor industry is protecting Americans from the risks posed to human health and the environment by genetically engineered (GE) foods. The Food and Drug Administration's "new" policy on GE foods (proposed January 18, 2001) continues to let the biotech industry regulate itself; it fails to require the long-term, pre-market safety testing demanded by independent experts. The "voluntary labeling" guidelines are a wholly inadequate response to the overwhelming public support for mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods. Therefore, I urge you to keep all genetically engineered ingredients and crops off the market unless:

1) Independent safety testing demonstrates they have no harmful effects on human health or the environment, 

2) They are labeled to ensure the consumer's right-to-know, and 

3) The biotechnology corporations that manufacture them are held accountable for any harms they may cause.


Please do the environment and us a favor by not introducing untested & unlabelled products into the marketplace...GE crops have been shown to kill monarch butterflies and other beneficial insects...who knows what they will do to us?  The US should be urging and encouraging organic farming which is healthier for us and the environment.


Sincerely

Stacey  Gear
1200 W.42nd St.
Baltimore, Maryland 21211-1506