From: Center for Food Safety [action@foodsafetynow.org]
Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2001 5:16 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,
 
I am horrified by the 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 should be 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.  It is unreasonable to wait to see if
damage occurs before testing or notifiying people.

I am also greatly opposed to your new “voluntary labeling” policy, which 
denies consumers a basic right to know what they are consuming, and it 
will also limit obtaining a data base of case studies.  If there is little 
or no testing, and no labeling, any effects--good or bad---of GE foods 
will not be traceable.  What purpose does---"we'll never know---serve? 
Without mandatory labeling, neither consumers nor health professionals 
will know if an allergic or toxic reaction occurred in a regular or a 
genetically-engineered food, which could cut down on the ability to 
identify a potential problem. Consumers will be deprived of the critical 
knowledge.  

Your proposed rules ignore serious concerns, and regardless of intent, 
they in effect protect industry from the public and scientific/medical 
community, potentially at the expense of public health and the 
environment. I do not
accept this willingness to trust the food and chemical industries that 
everything is fine without objective studies, the willingness to HIDE 
information from consumers.  I trust you will take my concern along with 
the thousands of others into serious consideration.


Sincerely,



Lisa Hastings
422 Witley Road
Wynnewood, PA, 19096

CC: 
The President
Vice President Dick Cheney
FDA Dockets Management [Docket No. 00N-1396]
Senator Arlen Specter
Senator Rick Santorum
Representative Curt Weldon
Representative Joseph HoeffelFDA Dockets Management [Docket No. 00D-1598]


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