From: ndobie@mindspring.com
Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2001 11:30 AM
To: fdadockets@oc.fda.gov
Subject: Docket No. 00N-1396 & Docket No. 00D-1598

Re:  Docket No. 00N-1396
        Docket No. 00D-1598

FDA Commissioner:

FDA's new proposed rule and guidance on genetically engineered (GE) foods
are patently one-sided and devoid of protections for the food eating public
in this country. They must be withdrawn, and FDA must act on its
responsibilities to the public interest in devising new rules.

The recognized potential for GE foods to cause allergic reactions, to be
toxic, to interfere with immune responses, and to have lower nutritional
value than food that has not been altered argue against FDA's finding that
these foods are "generally recognized as safe." FDA's own admission in court
that it has made "no dispositive scientific findings"  about the safety of
genetically engineered foods and safety concerns raised by FDA scientists
testify further to the falseness of the safety claim. Until human safety
tests show that these foods pose no dangers to health, they must not be
marketed.

The genetic pollution spread by GE crops requires that mandatory
environmental reviews be undertaken before these crops are allowed to be
planted. Contamination of traditional crops is already occurring and must be
stopped. The burden of proof that GE crops pose no threats to the wider
environment must reside with the companies that are developing them. If
those companies cannot ensure that their crops will not contaminate other
life, GE crops must not be approved for planting. In addition, companies
that release GE crops into the environment must be held accountable for
their adverse effects on surrounding life.

Assuming that GE crops pass rigorous human safety and environmental tests,
the food eating public must be informed when food contains genetically
modified organisms. By not requiring mandatory labeling of genetically
engineered foods, FDA is ignoring the overwhelming support for labeling that
the FDA itself received in comments in addition to several independent
public opinion polls which consistently report over 80% and often 90%
approval for mandatory labeling. In the face of this overwhelming public
sentiment, the acknowledged uncertainties surrounding GE foods, and the
documented threats posed by them, FDA's current position against mandatory
labeling is indefensible and should be reversed. Voluntary GE labeling is no
labeling at all.

The people of this country and of the world have a right to know the content
of the food we are eating and the consequences that flow from its
production. To deprive us of such information is to skew the marketplace
unfairly in favor of the corporations who produce these foods and to shield
those corporations from accountability for their actions. Those are not
legitimate roles for FDA to play.

Genetic engineering of crops constitutes a major departure from the way in
which food has been grown up to this point. It has created legitimate and
unresolved concerns about food safety, environmental pollution, and social
justice. The FDA's mission is to serve the public interest. The public
interest demands that FDA cease acting as a public relations and marketing
agent for genetic engineering corporations and begin protecting the public's
health, the environment that ensures that health, and the free flow of
information.

Sincerely,
Natalie Dobie
6793 James Madison Highway, Apt. B
Warrenton, VA  20187

cc: Representative Frank Wolf
Senator John Warner