From: Center for Food Safety [action@foodsafetynow.org] Sent: Wednesday, February 07, 2001 2:58 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 appalled that, to date, your agency, and our elected representatives, have shown little, if any, support of initiatives demanding and enforcing an outright moratorium on the production, development, and dispersion of genetically engineered foods and consumer products. As research on the safety of genetically engineered products has been overwhelmingly unsatisfactory and insufficient, it is urgent that all genetically modified and engineered products be labeled as such, with all deliberate speed. It is my right as a citizen of this nation to make informed ethical and consumer choices, particularly regarding products that either do, or may potentially, endanger human, economic, and environmental health and stability. Moreover, as a strict vegetarian, it is of utmost importance to me to know whether the products I buy and consume contain animal derivatives. Furthermore, as I have food allergies, it is crucial for me to know whether products I buy and consume have been genetically engineered. I strongly oppose not only the consumption, but also the production, of genetically engineered items (such as sterile seeds, pesticide harboring plants, herbicide resistant vegetation, etc.), as I believe that genetically altered seeds and species pose a very real threat to human health and our global ecosystem. Your agency, charged with the paramount task of promoting human health and safety, has placed me and my fellow citizens directly in harm's way. If you continue to refuse to make the right decisions on our behalf, I believe that the very least your agency can do is allow the American people the opportunity to make informed decisions ourselves. The practice of voluntary labeling by farmers and businesses that refuse to use GMOs, I believe, places an unfair and unecessary financial burden on small or independent businesses that are taking the very precautionary measures that are, in fact, the responsibility of the FDA and biotechnological manufacturers. Voluntary labeling also denies consumers the right to know exactly what is in the products we consume. Patent laws and corporations that disregard human health and safety are to be regulated, and challenged, if necessary, by your organization. Moreover, genetic engineering is a matter of fiercely divided scientific debate. The FDA well knows this. There simply is not enough empirical evidence or global scientific consensus to warrant any conclusive determination regarding the safety of the practice of genetic engineering. I refuse to be a part of biotechnological experimentation. Confine genetic experiments to research laboratories (if even they are safe there), rather than allowing them to continue to spread to our dinner plates, agricultural fields, bodies, ecosystems, and genes. And do not release them until you can grant sufficient, comprehensive evidence that they are, indeed, safe. Sincerely, Marie Saraceni Highland Park, NJ 08904 Marie Saraceni 43 Cedar Avenue, Apartment 1 Highland Park, NJ, 08904 CC: The President Vice President Dick Cheney FDA Dockets Management [Docket No. 00N-1396] Senator Robert Torricelli Senator Jon Corzine Representative Frank Pallone, Jr.FDA 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