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The Genetically Engineered
Food Right to Know Act
Kucinich calls for increased
testing
Quick legislation tutorial
Write to Congress
Write to President Bush
Write to government agencies
Bills before House of Representatives
The value of writing letters
The Genetically Engineered
Food Right to Know Act
 Congressman
Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) introduced new legislation
to label genetically engineered foods in July
2003. We
also expect Senator Barbara Boxer to introduce
it into the Senate by the end of this year.
Send
form letters to Congress
supporting the Genetically Engineered Foods
Right to Know Act
Related Information
In the 106th Congress, Congressman
Dennis Kucinich went on the floor of Congress
and discussed the need for more testing to be
done on genetically engineered foods to assure
they are safe to the environment and human health.
Read
Congressman Kucinich's statement on the floor
of Congress
Quick
legislation tutorial
Check out our article, How
legislation is passed into law, for a quick
and easy look at how Washington works.
Write
to Congress
Legislation
to label genetically engineered foods, called
the Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know
Act, was introduced before the House of Representatives
in July 2003.
In
order to gather support for the labeling legislation,
we encourage you to mail letters of support by
U.S. Postal Service to your House Representative
and your state's two Senators.
By
clicking on the name of your state below, you
will go to a web page that lists the state's corresponding
members of Congress. By clicking on a Representative's
or Senator's name, you will go to the appropriate
form letter.
Printing tip:
In order to have each form letter print out on
a single piece of paper, set your margins for
.5" or 1/2" and turn off your headers
and footers.
| How
to follow up on your letter with a telephone
call:
When
at your state's web page, you will see a
link to "Meet
Your Congressional Delegation." Following
that link will take you to complete contact
information about each member of Congress,
including their telephone numbers.
Under
the photo of each member of Congress, you
will see a link that says, "Staff Members."
You may wish to follow up on your form letter
by calling the staff person, in charge of
health, environmental or agriculture issues.
These staff members are listed as LA which
is short for Legislative Aide.
It
is usually difficult to speak with your
Representative or Senators by simply calling
their offices. You will generally have a
much easier time making contact with their
Legislative Aides.
These
Legislative Aides are important staff members
that do have a significant amount of influence.
So it is worth the time and expense to telephone
the Legislative Aides and discuss your concerns
over genetically engineered foods.
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Write
to President Bush
Letter
to President Bush
Write
to government agencies
Food and Drug
Administration
Environmental
Protection Agency
Department
of Agriculture
Bills
before House of Representatives
Introduced July 25, 2003
The Genetically Engineered
Food Right to Know Act
Summary
of HR 2916
HR 2916 in
web-based format
Adobe
Acrobat version of HR 2916
Send
a letter to Congress supporting HR 2916
Introduced July 25,
2003
Genetically
Engineered Food Safety Act
A bill to amend the
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect
to the safety of genetically engineered foods,
and for other purposes; to the Committee on
Energy and Commerce.
HR
2917 in web-based format
Adobe
Acrobat version of HR 2917
Send
a letter to Congress supporting HR 2917 Introduced July 25,
2003
Genetically
Engineered Crop and Animal Farmer Protection Act
A bill to provide
additional protections for farmers and ranchers
that may be harmed economically by genetically
engineered seeds, plants, or animals, to ensure
fairness for farmers and ranchers in their dealings
with biotech companies that sell genetically engineered
seeds, plants, or animals, and for other purposes;
to the Committee on Agriculture.
HR
2918 in web-based format
Adobe
Acrobat version of HR 2918
Send
a letter to Congress supporting HR 2918
Introduced July 25,
2003
Genetically Engineered
Organism Liability Act
A bill to assign liability for
injury caused by genetically engineered organisms;
to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition
to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for
a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of
the committee concerned.
HR 2919 in
web-based format
Adobe
Acrobat version of HR 2919
Send
a letter to Congress supporting HR 2919
Introduced July
25, 2003
Real Solutions to World
Hunger Act
A bill to ensure that efforts
to address world hunger through the use of genetically
engineered animals and crops actually help developing
countries and peoples while protecting human health
and the environment, and for other purposes; to
the Committee on International Relations, and
in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means,
Financial Services, and Agriculture, for a period
to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,
in each case for consideration of such provisions
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned.
HR 2920 in
web-based format
Adobe
Acrobat version of HR 2920
Send
a letter to Congress supporting HR 2920
Introduced July 25, 2003
The Genetically Engineered
Pharmaceutical and Industrial Crop Safety Act
HR 2921 in web-based format
Adobe Acrobat version of
HR 2921 Note: If you do not have Adobe
Acrobat on your computer, it is a free download.
Just click on the icon below and follow the download
instructions. Then return to this page and click
on the link above.
The
value of writing letters
Writing letters to Congress or other governmental
bodies is one of the most powerful ways to make
your voice heard.
To cite one recent example: in 1997, the U.S.
Department of Agriculture tried to revise the
definition of "organic" to include genetically
engineered foods, irradiated foods and foods grown
with toxic sludge-laced fertilizers. The country
was outraged, and several hundred thousand people
sent letters to the USDA protesting the proposal.
The USDA backed down, and removed the offending
foods from the organic definition.
The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered
Foods is using letters to government leaders as
one of its main tools to win the labeling battle.
We encourage you to write letters to your leaders,
and to encourage your friends and family to do
the same.
If you have the time and the gumption, please
write your letters by hand. Handwritten letters
are the most effective, because when you hand
write a letter, the recipient knows you have gone
to extra effort and the issue is especially important
to you.
But don't worry if you need to send a form letter
instead of a handwritten one. Behind handwritten
letters, form letters are the most effective method
of communication with members of Congress and
other government leaders.
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