From: SPINAN@aol.com
Sent: Saturday, March 24, 2001 3:21 AM
To: fdadockets@oc.fda.gov
Subject: Re: dockets 00N-1396 and 00D-1598
To ask us, the public, to buy foodstuffs which have been genetically altered 
without sufficient testing demonstrates yet again just how dumb, vulnerable 
and  helpless you think we are.  And this becomes more true each year.. 

  The size, behaviour, attitudes and lack of accomplishment of our children 
can be directly traced to the foods they comsume, and as each generation has 
grown to parenthood, it seems there has been a constantly lessening  supply 
of truly nourishing food. From growing our own, or depending upon a locally 
grown supply of fruits, vegetables and even meats, we have been forced into 
dependence upon supermarkets which bought more and more from food 
conglomerates. 

  The growth of agribusiness has not brought improvement to the nutritional 
value of foods. Any fool knows fresh food is better than processed, and it is 
truly a fool who believes that agribusiness has anybody's health in mind when 
it comes to making a buck. The last resort of persons interested in growing 
their own food has been the seed catalog and even that has begun to change 
over to "genetically altered" strains of vegetables.   I feel I cannot buy a 
potato anywhere that has not been radiated! 
I do not know anyone who believes press releases, advertisement, or excuses 
made by businesses when they are caught red handed breaking the rules that 
now exist....anyone with half a brain, that is.    When you look at families 
without nutritional awareness which are in the third generation of Pepsi for 
breakfast, I suppose it is not too far a step to give up and let producers do 
what they please.....but there is a large segment of the population WHO DO 
KNOW THE DIFFERENCE!!!!!!. 

   Foodstuffs involved in genetic altering would not be on my table, if I 
knew it!  I have reached the point where I feel I do not know what I am 
buying in the supermarket and I will make much more of an effort to buy from 
one of the co-ops in the area. 
The idea that you will not require testing of new products in this area is 
criminal since it certainly will allow the criminals in the business to march 
on to the bank, laughing at the possibility they have increased the rate of 
disease and malnutrition of people living in the richest country in the world. 

  Our government has long suppressed truths they don't think the public 
could handle......has the changing of foodstuffs become so necessary for 
obscured reasons that you have thrown all caution to the winds......  We 
certainly knew tobacco was harmful, but how long did it take before the truth 
was really exposed?  We know  advertisement and junk mail is wasting more 
energy and paper than anybody could count, we DONT WANT TO RECEIVE 
IT......still no solution!   We have had to learn to ignore a ringing 
phone(and rely on caller ID) to prevent total harassment in our homes.  If we 
want to make a call to any business we know we will have to spend extra time 
waiting for a stupid machine to finally get to who we are calling, and 
probably only get voice mail.   If you really want to drive the population 
over the edge, just keep adding to the frustrations experienced by 
intelligent people who cannot do anything at all about too many situations.   
Keep messing with our food supply!  Make it impossible to avoid absorbing 
chemicals we don't want. I don't think going down that road is the way to the 
future. THINK ABOUT IT!!!!!!!!!! 
Nancy H. Lloyd 
2257 Big island Highway 
Bedford, Virginia 24523