From: jen seals [seals_jen@hotmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, September 11, 2002 4:14 PM To: fdadockets@oc.fda.gov Subject: Public Health vs. Corporate Marketing To whom it may concern: I am glad to have this opportunity to share my opinion with you on what I think has become a serious problem with our attitude towards advertising and what corporations should and should not be allowed to do. To illustrate my point, I would like to share my son's story with you. My son Samuel is 5 years old and started Kindergarten yesterday. He's a very active, happy, healthy and bright child. He is the light and joy of my life and I probably spoil him occasionally as mothers are wont to do however I am very firm in my ruling that he may only watch television for short periods of time on the weekends. I feel that his time is better spent using his imagination or playing with friends rather than playing T.V. Zombie. We NEVER eat at the McDonald's fast food restaurant. I cannot eat their food because they use beef talo in their vegetable oil which I am allergic to. In addition, other members of my family including Samuel continually suffered from severe indigestion, stomach aches and nausea after we ate there. On my son's 2nd birthday, he asked if we could go to McDonald's for dinner and I agreed, wishing to grant my son's innocent birthday wish for a 'Happy Meal'. That night was like a scene from the Exorcist and my son was so sick and sad that he begged me not to feed him McDonald's food again. I have kept that promise I made. Despite all of these experiences and his miniscule exposure to commercial advertising, my son still asks to go to McDonald's. He thinks Ronald McDonald is some kind of superhero and that the restaurant is a basic part of everyone's daily life. Why is that? What kind of twisted marketing must this corporation be using to entrance my small child? It's frightening how enamored he is with a company. I am writing you this letter in hopes that you will be a watchdog for us, that you will ensure that our safety and the safety of our children lies in our hands. That the decisions our children make are based on facts and parental advice, not public marketing that has been pounded into their heads like chinese water torture since their infancy. My son craves poorly made, small, greasy hamburgers and french fries that actually make him ill. How can that be right? How can a COMPANY get away with the brainwashing of my child? Will the tobacco companies be successful in teaching him to smoke by the time he's 15? Will my son spend the rest of his life purchasing products that he doesn't need or enjoy for reasons that can't be explained? I sincerely feel that corporations have been treated as human beings and given the rights and freedoms that we all so treasure. This seems like a simple and innocuous thing, but corporations are NOT human. They have no conscience and no soul. How can a THING be expected to choose between right and wrong? The fear I have for my son is because I do watch the news, I read the paper and I am aware of the world around me. When a THING is given control of a HUMAN life, the result is always bad. A THING can be responsible for evil and injustice and I hope that you will make sure that these companies and corporations ARE held responsible and are not given carte blanche over the lives of our children and our freedoms. We do not have lobbies or sponsors for our individual and personal needs, we cannot protect ourselves from these enormous things. We are counting on you to be our protector. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Jen Seals seals_jen@hotmail.com 1235 E. Elgin Ave. #B SLC, UT 84106 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Join the world’s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. Click Here