From: William G. Sacks [wmsacks1230@interaccess.com]
Sent: Saturday, March 24, 2001 12:48 PM
To: fdadockets@oc.fda.gov
Subject: Docket 00N-1396 & Docket 00D-1598

Ladies And Gentlemen;

I write to you as both a concerned citizen and as a researcher on public
health policy issues to ask that the FDA take steps to ensure that any and
all genetically engineered foodstuffs marketed for human consumption be
subject to the most rigorous pre-market testing standards, and that those
foodstuffs which do pass such scrutiny carry clearly legible labels clearly
identifying them as genetically altered product. The foundation of research
at our disposal concerning the long-term metabolic effects of genetically
altered foods is radically insufficient at this time, particularly as it
bears on prenatal and infant development, such that I believe releasing
genetically engineered produce into the ecology is an act of recklessness
bordering on depraved indifference. No profit motive, no prophecy of
economic hardship from the agricultural industry is a sufficient logical or
moral counterweight to the simple fact that we do not have coherent research
available on even a single generation of American test subjects whose growth
and longevity may be impacted by the body's adaptation to these new breeds
of foodstuffs. It is imperative that the Federal government adopt a position
of utmost prudence and discretion where these matters are concerned, and I
urge all those who hold positions of responsibility at the FDA to err in
favor of a conservative, which is to say highly restrictive, policy
concerning these products for the foreseeable future.

Most Sincerely,
William Sacks, Ph.D.