An Action Alert
from Organic Consumers Association. Mark your calendar: Monday, December 13th,
1999 in Oakland. Note the Q&A toward the bottom of the Alert. Also note
that written comments are very important.
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ACTION ALERT -- PLEASE CIRCULATE THIS INFORMATION. YOU
MUST REGISTER 15 days in advance TO
SPEAK or to ATTEND AND THE SLOTS ARE FILLING UP FAST. CALL AND
RESERVE YOUR SPOT TO SPEAK ASAP!!! FDA
ANNOUNCES PUBLIC MEETINGS ON BIOENGINEERED FOODS! FDA To
Hold Public Hearings in Chicago (November 18),
Washington, DC (November 30) and Oakland
(December 13). The
FDA regulates the safety of new foods entering the market and decides
whether additional labeling is required. In 1992, the FDA issued a controversial
policy determining that genetically engineered foods are "substantially
equivalent" to conventional foods, and thus do not have to be labeled
or safety tested prior to entering the marketplace. The
FDA is anxious to ease public fears of genetically engineered foods and
avoid a large public outcry similar to what has happened in Europe. Health
and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala told Reuters, "Although
people have enthusiastically accepted new drugs made from biotechnology,
some consumers have concerns about the use of this technology in foods."
Shalala is the former chancellor for the University of Wisconsin where
she was a staunch supporter of research into the genetically engineered
recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH). Below
are details on the FDA public hearings. OCA will be working with a broad
coalition of organizations to ensure there is high attendance at each
meeting. If you are interested in attending, please contact OCA's organizer
listed for that public hearing. At
the public meetings, the public will be informed about current FDA policy
for assuring the safety of bioengineered foods. The public will be asked
whether this policy should be modified and also to comment on appropriate
means of providing information to the public about bioengineered products
in the food supply. If you wish to read the information as published in the Federal Register, here is a link http//www.thecampaign.org/fedreg102599.htm IMPORTANT: TO ATTEND OR TESTIFY AT ANY OF THESE HEARINGS, YOU MUST REGISTER 15 DAYS IN ADVANCE. Space is limited in some cases, and available seating is filling up fast. We strongly urge you to attend the FDA public hearing closest to you. PLEASE MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS TODAY! Only one speaker from an organization may speak at one of the three meetings. CHICAGO
(FOR MORE
INFORMATION, CONTACT CHICAGO MEDIA WATCH - LIANE Casten" <lcasten@interaccess.com>
OR CHRISTI PHILLIPS AT: BluPiaf@aol.com - 773-784-3698) Thursday, November 18, 1999, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., One Prudential Plaza, Plaza Club, 40th floor,130 East Randolph St., Chicago, IL 60601. For information about and registration for the public meeting in Chicago, IL Darlene Bailey, Chicago District (HFR-CE 645), Food and Drug Administration, 300 S. Riverside Plaza, Suite 550-South, Chicago, IL 60606, 312-353-7126, FAX 312-886-3280, e-mail dbailey@ora.fda.gov WASHINGTON,
DC (FOR MORE
INFORMATION, CONTACT OCA ORGANIZER MARNIE GLICKMAN AT 202-483-1851 OR
MGLICKMAN@ORGANICCONSUMERS.ORG) Tuesday, November 30, 1999, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Washington, DC, Grand Hyatt Washington, 1000 H St. NW., Washington, DC 20001. For information about and registration for the public meeting in Washington, DC Patricia Alexander, Office of Consumer Affairs (HFE-40), Food and Drug Administration, Rockville, MD 20857, 301-827-5006, FAX 301-827-3052, e-mail palexand@oc.fda.gov OAKLAND
(FOR MORE
INFORMATION, CONTACT OCA ORGANIZER SIMON HARRIS AT SIMONHARRIS@MINDSPRING.COM)
Monday, December 13, 1999, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Oakland, California. Elihu Harris State Office Building, 1515 Clay St., Oakland, CA 94612. For information about and registration for the public meeting in Oakland, CA Janet McDonald, San Francisco District (HFR-PA100), Food and Drug Administration, 1431 Harbor Bay Pkwy., Alameda, CA 94502-7070, 510-337-6845, FAX 510-337-6708, e-mail jmcdonal@ora.fda.gov Can't attend? The FDA is accepting written comments regarding genetically engineered foods until January 13, 2000. Submit written comments to: Docket Management Branch The
comments should be related to: 1) whether FDA's policies or procedures
should be modified (Note this is where you tell them you want all foods
that contain GE/GMO's be labeled!), and 2) information to be used to assess
the most appropriate means of providing information to the public about
bioengineered products in the food supply. Submit your written comments to the FDA demanding the mandatory labeling and pre-market safety testing of genetically engineered foods by visiting http://www.foodsafetynow.org This website sends your comments directly to the FDA as well CC's your comments (for those of you in the US) directly to your senators, reps. and VP Gore. Questions posed by OCA - Answers from FDA: 1. How much
time will each speaker be allowed? 2. What order will speakers be chosen? Speakers are on a first come/first serve basis. 3. Do speakers have to pre-register? FYI. Attendees must also pre-register for the meetings, as space is limited in all locations. To comply with fire regulations, once the maximum has been reached, registration will be terminated. People can register to speak at the hearing. However, to be fair to all and give everyone a chance, we will schedule only one speaker from a given organization to speak at one of the three meetings. Note: For groups that are sending multiple speakers/members just have them listed as a consumer! 4. Will there be tables available for groups to display literature? It has not been decided whether a table will be available for groups to display their literature. 5. Will the FDA have information and handouts available at each hearing? Packets of basic information (agenda, names of FDA panel members, etc.) will be given out at the meetings. The exact contents not yet determined. 6. Will there be other hearings besides just these three? Agency resources are very limited. At this point in time, only the three meetings are scheduled - one on each coast and one as close to the middle of the country as possible. [The agency has been holding similar meetings on a variety of issues, not just bioengineered foods.] If you wish to request a Public Meeting please contact Robert Lake, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition at #202-205-4l60. 7) Can an organization have a speaker at each hearing? No. You will need to identify the person who will be speaking, providing all of the information requested in the Federal Register announcement, and provide a brief summary of the statement to me as soon as possible. Furthermore, only one speaker from an organization may speak at one of the three meetings. So, if your organization is providing a speaker at either of the other two meetings, it will not be possible to speak at the Oakland meeting. We are trying to give as many groups/individuals an opportunity to comment. **** Registration and Requests to Make Oral Presentations If you would like to attend the meetings, you must register withthe appropriate contact person (addresses above) 15 days prior to themeeting you wish to attend by providing your name, title, business affiliation, address, telephone, and fax number. To expedite processing, this registration information also may be faxed to the appropriate contact person (fax number above). If you need specialaccommodations due to disability, please inform the contact person whenyou register. If, in addition to attending, you wish to make an oralpresentation during the meeting, you must so inform the contact personwhen you register and submit: (1) A brief written statement of thegeneral nature of the views you wish to present; (2) the names andaddresses of all persons who will participate in the presentation; and (3) an indication of the approximate time that you request to make your presentation. Depending upon the number of people who register to make presentations, FDA may have to limit the time allotted for eachpresentation. Thanks,
Join the Organic Consumers Association in your local area. If you want to become a member or a volunteer--or make a donation--call (218)726-1443 To subcribe to the free electronic newsletter, Organic View, send an email to: organicview@organicconsumers.org with the message: subscribe Organic View is devoted to organic food issues and the work of the OCA. To subscribe to the free electronic newsletter, Campaign for Food Safety News (formerly Food Bytes), send an email to: majordomo@mr.net with the simple message: subscribe pure-food-action CFS News is devoted to factory farming, biotechnology, food safety/politics issues. http://www.purefood.org OCA is affiliated with the Campaign for Food Safety. |
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