Kucinich to introduce the Engineered Food Right to Know Act of 2005

[Guest guest]

" News Update from The Campaign " <newsupdate

ACTION ALERT: Contact Your House Representative

Tue, 8 Mar 2005 05:31:02 -0800

 

 

 

News Update From The Campaign

----------------

 

 

 

Dear News Update Subscribers,

 

Representative Dennis Kucinich is preparing to introduce the

Genetically

Engineered Food Right to Know Act of 2005 before the U.S. House of

Representatives. He has asked for our assistance in recruiting initial

co-sponsors.

 

Therefore, we are calling an ACTION ALERT and asking you to send an

instant e-mail AND print out a form letter and mail it by U.S. postal

service to your House Representative.

 

To participate in this high priority ACTION ALERT, please visit:

http://www.thecampaign.org/alert_co_sponsors.php

 

Please be aware that a form letter mailed to your House Representative

will

have much more impact than an e-mail. Members of Congress get thousands

of

e-mails each week, but relatively few letters by U.S. mail.

 

E-mail is quick and easy, but you may not receive a written postal

response

to your e-mail. On the other hand, mailing a form letter to your House

Representative by the U.S. postal service will usually result in you

receiving a written response back in the mail. So please take the extra

time

to print out the letter and spend the 37 cents to mail it to your House

Representative.

 

WANT TO DO MORE? Print out 10 extra form letters for your local House

Representative and get 10 of your friends, co-workers and neighbors to

sign

them. Or set up a table at a public event and you can probably get 100

letters signed in a single afternoon. You can mail them to your House

Representative all together in a single envelope. Or spread out the

mailings

to your House Representative by sending five letters one day, five more

a

few days later, etc. It is amazing how many letters a few dedicated

activists can generate in a few short weeks when they put their mind to

it.

 

The text of the e-mail is posted below. Thanks for taking part in this

important ACTION ALERT:

http://www.thecampaign.org/alert_co_sponsors.php

 

Craig Winters

President

The Campaign

PO Box 55699

Seattle, WA 98155

Tel: 425-771-4049

E-mail: label

Web Site: http://www.thecampaign.org

 

***************************************************************

 

Dear Representative ___________________,

 

Representative Dennis Kucinich (OH-10th) will soon introduce the

Genetically

Engineered Food Right to Know Act of 2005 before the 109th Congress. I

am

writing you now to ask you to become a co-sponsor at the time of

introduction in order to get maximum support for this important

consumer

legislation.

 

It is shocking that the FDA considers genetically engineered foods

" substantially equivalent " to non-genetically engineered foods.

Genetically

engineered crops contain antibiotic-resistant marker genes, viral

promoters

and foreign proteins never before consumed by humans. These are not

found in

crops produced through normal means of hybridization.

 

Further, the FDA is not testing these products itself. The agency is

relying

on edited summaries provided by the very companies that have a

financial

interest in bringing these biotech crops to market. And under current

FDA

law, the companies are not even required to provide summaries!

 

Labeling is essential for me to choose whether or not I want to consume

genetically engineered foods. Genetically engineered foods are required

to

be labeled in the European Union nations, plus Japan, China, Australia,

New

Zealand and many other countries around the world. As an American, I

firmly

believe I should also have that right to know if my foods have been

genetically engineered.

 

A poll released July 15, 2003 by ABC News found that 92 percent of the

American public wants the federal government to require mandatory

labeling

on genetically modified foods. The figure was 93 percent in a poll ABC

News

conducted in 2001, so support for mandatory labeling is strong and

consistent. As ABC News stated, " Such near-unanimity in public opinion

is

rare. "

 

Please contact Representative Kucinich's office and let him know you

wish to

co-sponsor the Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act of 2005.

 

Thank you for your time and understanding the importance of this issue.

 

Sincerely,

 

Your Name Here

Address

City, State, Zip

 

 

 

---------