From: Center for Food Safety [action@foodsafetynow.org]
Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2001 10:23 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 outraged 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 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. 

I am also greatly opposed to your new “voluntary labeling” policy, which 
denies consumers a basic right to 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 need to hold food 
producers liable should any of these novel foods prove hazardous.

Your proposed rules ignore serious concerns, and appear to be a decision 
made to convenience industry at the expense of public health and the 
environment. I will not accept your attempt to make me a guinea pig of 
these untested foods, and I trust you will take my concern along with the 
thousands of others into serious consideration.

I believe all GE foods should be labeled so I am informed and have a 
choice.  Just like ingredient and nutrition labels are required.  How 
could this not be on a level with them?

GE foods should not be assumed to be "generally recognized as safe" and 
should have mandatory pre-market safety testing.  We always thought many 
pesticides were generally safe, and are now determining that is not the 
case and removing them from public use.  New drugs are always tested for 
their effects, even though they have possibly great benefits.  Alteration 
of natural foods should fall into the same area as drugs.  Prove they do 
no harm, before general distribution.  I still wonder if the reason 
puberty is starting earlier and earlier in life (kids reaching puberty 
before 10 regularly now) are due to the growth hormones used in much of 
the beef/dairy, and chicken industry.

Meanwhile there should be a moratorium on GE foods until long-term studies 
show they are safe for human health and the environment.


Sincerely,
Sandra K. Stuteville

Sandra Stuteville
784 Penguin Ave NE
Palm Bay, FL, 32907

CC: 
The President
Vice President Dick Cheney
FDA Dockets Management [Docket No. 00N-1396]
Senator Bob Graham
Senator Bill Nelson
Representative Dave WeldonFDA Dockets Management [Docket No. 00D-1598]


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