From: Center for Food Safety [action@foodsafetynow.org]
Sent: Thursday, February 01, 2001 12:22 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 Madam Commissioner,
 
Genetically engineered foods should be tested and labeled.  Despite 
 overwhelming consumer demand, the agency fails to require safety testing 
and mandatory labeling for GE foods. This policy is detrimental to 
consumers, and ignores the very procedures you require to license drugs.  
It is also ignoring the strong scientific evidence of numerous potential 
health and environmental risks from 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. 

A “voluntary labeling” policy has demonstrated that it cannot work or you 
would not be requiring labels for all the other products that you have set 
rules and regs for.  This omission of labeling denies consumers their 
basic right to know. Without mandatory labeling, neither consumers nor 
health professionals will know if an allergic or toxic reaction might have 
been the result of a genetically engineered food. Consumers will also be 
deprived of the critical knowledge they need to hold food producers 
responsible should any of these novel foods prove hazardous.  
Additionally, if there is no labeling, there cannot be an accumulation of 
data of reactions which would lead to your pulling a product in the future 
as you have done with so many other products.

You are responsible for protecting consumers from substances that could 
prove harmful.  Drug companies are required to undergo extensive trials 
before you approve injecting these foreign substances into human bodies.  
Genetic Engineering creates foreign substances and yet you are proposing 
no trials or labeling or prescriptions for these products which are no 
different than drugs with their potential consequences.

With all the chemical additives in the food supply that have generated 
toxicity, and this is documented, you are the protection against even more 
harmful consequences of GE products.  

Please require testing and labeling.

Sincerely,

Martha Sipe


Martha Sipe
7 Luna Drive
Santa Fe, NM, 87505

CC: 
The President
Vice President Dick Cheney
FDA Dockets Management [Docket No. 00N-1396]
Senator Pete V. Domenici
Senator Jeff Bingaman
Representative Thomas UdallFDA Dockets Management [Docket No. 00D-1598]


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