From: Center for Food Safety [action@foodsafetynow.org]
Sent: Thursday, February 01, 2001 4:36 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 
of 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 (you should be aware, but based on your agency's 
policies, apparently you are not). 

I am supremely 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. And, of 
course, without mandatory labeling, consumers cannot even attempt to avoid 
GE foods. This is "voluntary labeling" policy is clearly irresponsible.

Your proposed rules ignore serious concerns, and appear to be a decision 
made to solely to help the bioindustry at the expense of public health and 
the environment. GE foods may be fine. They may be safe. However, without 
mandatory labeling and comprehensive, third party testing, we will not 
know until we have to react to a major problem (like the StarLink Corn 
fiasco). I will not accept your attempt to make me a guinea pig for these 
untested foods! I sincerely hope you will take my concern, along with the 
thousands of others, into serious consideration. After all, you are a 
representative of a government of people, not corporations.


Sincerely,



Kurt Anderson
772 S. Corona St.
Denver, CO, 80209

CC: 
The President
Vice President Dick Cheney
FDA Dockets Management [Docket No. 00N-1396]
Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell
Senator Wayne Allard
Representative Diana DeGetteFDA Dockets Management [Docket No. 00D-1598]


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