To: IAHF List
Subject: Cohen SKEWERS FDA Over BgH: See Interesting Letters To and From FDA:
From: John Hammell jham@iahf.com
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2000 01:17:47 -0500

All Webmasters: Please post to your websites!

Everyone: Please Forward widely! Way to go Robert!

Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 15:09:04 -0500
From: Robert Cohen
Subject: THREE LETTERS

Monday, March 20

Today is the 135th day of my hunger strike.

More comedy from FDA. Below are three letters. The first one, written March 7 to FDA Commissioner Henney, praised FDA and condemned Monsanto. The second, a response from FDA, took exception to my letter, and, in fact, took my attack personally. Read the third letter and then ask yourself this question:

When I attack Monsanto, do I really attack FDA, and are they really taking this personally?

TO FDA (1)
March 7, 2000
Commissioner Jane Henney
Delivered by fax: (301) 443-3100
Food & Drug Administration Parklawn
5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, MD 20857

RE: FOIA Request No. 99026306 / Citizen Petition 99P-4613

Dear Commissioner Henney:

Thank you so much for your letter dated March 6, 2000. This is exciting news! As you know, the information I requested was either going to be very bad news for FDA or Monsanto. The good news for FDA is that you did not lie, none of your officials lied and no one at FDA deceived America. The bad news is that Monsanto changed the formula for their drug without telling anybody. In the world of political and scientific decisions, I am very pleased that FDA now has the evidence of Monsanto's fraud.

The unfortunate thing is that Monsanto has enormous power and your predecessors, Michael Freidman and Arthur Hull Hayes have left FDA to go to work for Monsanto.

You may be aware that I had been chosen to be a member of the 10-person delegation to the CODEX meeting in Tokyo. On today's date, I was informed by Bob Lake that I have been removed from that committee. Monsanto's lobbying efforts have gained an ear with Mr. Lake and the official United States' position is contrary to the wishes of Americans and the rest of the world.

Now that you are armed with evidence of Monsanto's deception, I await your official decision with great anticipation.

Very truly yours,
Robert Cohen

From FDA (2)

Mr. Robert Cohen
Dairy Education Board
325 Sylvan Avenue
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 07632

Request No. 99026306/Citizen Petition 99P-4613

Dear Mr. Cohen:

Thank you for your letter of March 7, 2000 to FDA Commissioner Henney regarding FOIA Request No. 99026306/Citizen Petition 99P-4613. The Commissioner has asked me to respond for her.

I must take exception to the suggestion that FDA officials would lie to you or that they would act in any way to deceive America. This characterization is simply unrepresentative of FDA employees. The people who work at FDA are most conscientious and diligent in their work of protecting the public health. I know I must speak for the Commissioner and every employee at FDA in refuting your insinuation that FDA employees would lie to the public we serve.

I can say that we have your CP 99P-4613 under consideration. We will be responding to your concerns. Thank you for stating your concern.

Sincerely yours,
Stephen F. Sundlof, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Director, Center for Veterinary Medicine

TO FDA (3)

March 17, 2000

Stephen F. Sundlof, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Delivered by fax: (301) 594-1830
Director, Center for Veterinary Medicine HFV1
7500 Standish Pl.
Rockville, MD 20855

RE: Citizen Petition 99P-4613

Dear Dr. Sundlof:

I am in receipt of your letter dated March 14, 2000. In response to my letter to Commissioner Henney dated March 7, 2000, you wrote:

"I must take exception to the suggestion that FDA officials would lie to you or that they would act in any way to deceive America."

In fact, I wrote:

"... the information I requested was either going to be very bad news for FDA or Monsanto. The good news for FDA is that you did not lie, none of your officials lied and no one at FDA deceived America…I am very pleased that FDA now has the evidence of Monsanto's fraud."

You might recall in your letter of January 23, 1995, to Frederich-Wilhelm Graefe zu Baringdorf, the Vice President of the Agricultural Committee of the European Parliament. You wrote:

"... I must take issue with your claim that "more and more scientific evidence" is raising questions about the safety of rbST, and with your apparent implication that FDA approved rbST prematurely. I can assure you that FDA's human food safety experts have been diligent and thorough in their review of all aspects of the human food safety of milk from cows receiving supplemental rbST"

When I met with FDA scientists on April 21, 1995, I learned that the most important study (Richard, Odaglia and Deslex) submitted by Monsanto was never reviewed.

Page 2 (To FDA letter 3)

Stephen F. Sundlof CVM March 17, 2000

Subsequent to my meeting, FDA learned that their major conclusion (no biological effects from oral ingestion of rbGH) was incorrect.

In 1996, I helped prepare research for 60 Minutes' producer, Isadore Roesmarin for a segment on aspartame. A few months earlier, I had met with Michael Freidman and had given him a study that FDA called "pivotal". In that study, every single rhesus monkey orally ingesting Monsanto's NutraSweet developed grand mal epileptic seizures. I watched at home as Freidman told a 60 Minutes reporter that there was never evidence of adverse effects on laboratory animals from aspartame ingestion. Freidman later became the acting Commissioner at FDA and then went to work for Monsanto.

I am comforted by your representation that FDA employees do not lie or deceive America. I have met you, Commissioner Jane Henney and Andy Beaulieu at CVM and trust that every person that I recently met is trying to do the right thing and be entirely consistent with their fiduciary role.

A review of my petition (CP 99P-4613) will reveal no gray issues, just black and white. Monsanto changed the formula for the bovine growth hormone after the review was completed and neglected to inform FDA that five "freak" amino acids were produced.

The American people will accept nothing less than an immediate recall of Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. In addition, Monsanto should be severely disciplined for their unprecedented fraud so that other developers of genetically modified organisms are not tempted to repeat similar deceits.

Very truly yours,

Robert Cohen (notmilkman@notmilk.com)