I am deeply disappointed that you have taken such a strong, public
pro-genetically engineered food stance.  Until you reverse this stance, I
will take care not to buy any foods manufactured by Lumen Foods, and will
warn my friends and the readership of a farming newsletter that I edit, to
avoid Lumen Foods because of their GE ingredient content.

        Studies by the FDA and EPA have NOT been "exhaustive" and the
preliminary results of research into health effects of GE foods have been
mixed.  In fact, the vested interests have managed to quash adverse evidence
on genetic engineering of foods - most notably studies on rBGH milk in the
US which showed serious health hazards.  These were quietly swept under the
rug, thanks to a hidden link between Monsanto and the US government.  In
Great Britain, a significant study by Dr. Arpad Pusztai showing possibly
severe organ damage to laboratory animals by the Cauliflower Mozaic Virus
gene (used in nearly all Bt- and Roundup-Ready crops), resulted in Dr.
Pusztai's dismissal from his university position.

        Opposition to GE foods is based on good science.  The introduction
of foreign genes and novel arrangements of genes within the plant's genome
is bound to create nasty surprises - new or unexpected toxins and allergens
in some of the GE crops, or more likely a loss in nutritional value.  Not
that all GE foods are deadly; there may even be some relatively safe ones.
However, it is far too soon to be able to estimate long term health effects
of any of the GE crops now on the market.  The jury is still out, and most
of the American people do not want to be part of a mass feeding experiment.

        Remember the illnesses and death caused a few years ago by
tryptophan supplements?  These were caused by tryptophan supplements derived
from GENETICALLY ENGINEERED microbes, which had been introducing traces of a
novel and powerful toxin along with the tryptophan.  This is one example of
the kind of nasty surprise that could arise from other GE foods that have
undergone inadequate safety testing.

        As an organic vegetable grower, I am completely opposed to the
genetically engineered Bt-crops because their use will result in widespread
insect resistance to Bt within five years, rendering Bt sprays (a fairly
safe insecticide when used judiciously) useless.  Also, a crop that makes
the Bt toxin ALL THE TIME as these Bt-crops do, will have unknown and
possibly serious impacts on the farm ecosystem and on nontarget insects such
as the monarch butterfly.  The effects of this large volume of Bt toxin on
the soil life so vital to soil fertility, is completely unknown.

        Finally, your analogy between GE foods and computers is incorrect.
Computer technology has no equivalent alternative - we all agree that
pen-and-paper, typewriters and slide rules are no substitute for the
communication and mathematical problem-solving capabilities of computers.
Thus today's low-magnetic-field computers (as compared to the
higher-magnetic-field models of 10 years ago) are the safest alternative,
although they do pose a slight hazard.  

        But GE foods have an alternative of equivalent or better quality -
organic or sustainably produced foods from non-GE seeds.  As a "natural food
manufacturer," Lumen Foods should emphasize this safer, higher-quality food
alternative.  For example, take the first GE food to hit the market several
years ago - the Flavr Savr tomato.  A couple of years after this crop
appeared on grocery shelves, a friend gave me some seeds of an heirloom
tomato variety called "winter keeper" which produced green tomatoes in
August that ripened to yellow and good flavor for use in November through
January.  This year, I ran across a red winter keeper tomato as well.  Work
with nature, and nature will provide.   Isn't that what natural foods are
supposed to be about?

        Please don't allow Lumen Foods to become a mouthpiece of the biotech
special interests!!

        Yours sincerely,

        Mark Schonbeck, Ph.D.
        Crop and soil scientist