Consumer Affairs FritoLay Corp:
Thursday, April 13, 2000, 11:30:05 AM, you sent yet another glib form
letter - the same one sent earlier - that totally failed to address
the issues mentioned in the message it supposedly answered. Obviously
my message wasn't even read. If this is indicative of the attention
given by FritoLay to the quality of it's products and the concerns of
it's customers, many of us are buying our food from the wrong company
(i.e. FritoLay - which clearly does NOT share our concerns, is not
willing to act in the public's best interest and your poor excuse for
a reply is in fact insulting).
I resend the original message. I suggest you read it and reply
accordingly. If not, scratch one more former Frito-Lay products
consumer.
Douglas Hinds
CeDeCoR, A.C.
McAllen TX and various locations in Mexico
*********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********
DH> To: Consumer Affairs/Frito-Lay/US@Frito-Lay
DH> cc:
DH> bcc:
DH> From: Douglas Hinds <dmhinds@acnet.net>@SMTP@Exchange
DH> Date: 03/28/2000 06:57:07 PM
DH> Subject: Re[2]: Your wise decision
DH> Email Body:
DH> Reply to response received from FritoLay Consumer Affairs:
DH> Tuesday, March 28, 2000, 4:58:52 PM, you wrote:
AC>> Thank you for contacting Frito-Lay. We are always pleased when
AC>> our consumers take the time to share their thoughts with us.
DH> And I'm always pleased when I get a straight answer rather than a
DH> form letter like this one.
AC>> Now that there is a renewed interest in biotechnology by
AC>> regulatory agencies and some consumer concern exists, we did not
AC>> feel it appropriate to ask our growers to include bt crops in
AC>> what they sell us.
DH> A luke warm, non-committal response.
AC>> Just like other food companies, Frito-Lay relies on and supports
AC>> the regulatory agencies charged with safeguarding our food supply
AC>> when sourcing ingredients for our products.
DH> Sorry to hear that. To me, that's irresponsible. I suggest you
DH> review the matter in depth, develop your own criteria take a
DH> stance, just like any other congruent, thinking person's food
DH> company.
AC>> These agencies continue to report that genetically modified
AC>> ingredients are perfectly safe.
DH> Could that be part of the problem? Are so many other governments
DH> (particularly in Europe) that far off base? Or is something wrong
DH> in "these agencies" that haven't bothered to investigate the issue
DH> in any depth before permitting the widespread release of GMOs. As
DH> a matter of fact, NO ONE has "reported that genetically modified
DH> ingredients are perfectly safe, since the conclusive research
DH> required has yet to be done. The negative results now coming in
DH> from what research HAS been done, highlight the gross lack of
DH> concern for the environment and public health on the part of
DH> "these agencies" as well as those who hide behind their skirts.
AC>> Since we are also a large buyer of agricultural commodities, and
AC>> more than a quarter of the North American crop is derived from
AC>> biotechnology, just like other food companies, we could have
AC>> biotechnology ingredients in our products.
DH> That's nothing more than a cop-out. I'm truly disappointed.
AC>> Thank you for taking the time to contact Frito-Lay. We hope this
AC>> information is helpful.
DH> Only to the degree that it shows me that I'll need to look
DH> elsewhere for the GMO free food sources I want. I strongly urge
DH> FritoLay to reconsider their position.
AC>> Frito-Lay Consumer Affairs
AC>> Reference #: CAFS-4H2KKE
DH> Douglas Hinds
DH> *********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********
DH> DH> Original Text:
DH>> To: Consumer Affairs/Frito-Lay/US@Frito-Lay
DH>> cc:
DH>> bcc:
DH>> From: Douglas Hinds <dmhinds@acnet.net>@SMTP@Exchange
DH>> Date: 03/02/2000 02:47:19 AM
DH>> Subject: Your wise decision
DH>> Email Body:
DH>> Dear Sirs:
DH>> Permit me to congratulate Frito-Lay regarding it's courageous and
DH>> well thought decision to join Gerber and Heinz, whose directors also
DH>> wisely chose to exclude the use of Genetically Modified ingredients in
DH>> their food products.
DH>> The inherent risks that accompany the use of Genetically Modified.
DH>> organisms in the food chain and / or their release to the environment
DH>> at large, are neither necessary nor justified by the professed
DH>> benefits claimed by those holding the patents to them, given that
DH>> millions of years of biological development have resulted in a
DH>> bountiful diversity that merits further study and preservation, an
DH>> endeavor still far from completion.
DH>> The glib and shallow claims made by those promoting novel, man made
DH>> organisms shine feebly next to the potential emanating from natural
DH>> resources that require no disarticulation in order to reproduce new
DH>> and traditional products that are highly useful to man; products that
DH>> grow from within and evolve from an inter-species collaboration that
DH>> fully respects the integrity of the whole organism.
DH>> I suggest that Frito-Lay take their decision one step farther by
DH>> taking the additional actions required to assure a 100% GMO free
DH>> product and declaring that fact publicly. It has every right to reap
DH>> the benefits that act would bring. Once again, I recognize the
DH>> congruence of your decision thus far and urge you to complete the
DH>> process: Consumers of Frito-Lay products will support that next,
DH>> logical and laudable step.
DH>> Thanking you beforehand for your your attention, I remain
DH>> Sincerely yours,
DH>> Douglas Hinds, Dir. Gral. - CeDeCoR, A.C.
DH>> Centro para el Desarrollo Comunitario y Rural, Asociacion Civil
DH>> (Center for Rural and Community Development,
DH>> a Mexican non-profit organization)
DH>> Cordoba, Veracruz; Cd. Guzman, Jalisco; Loma Bonita, Oaxaca
DH>> & Reynosa, Tamaulipas Mexico
DH>> Mail: Apdo. Postal No. 171
DH>> Fortin de las Flores, Veracruz
DH>> 94471 Mexico
DH>> Tel: 011 522 713 2888 (Direct at present)
DH>> U.S. Fax Mailbox (email linked) 630 300 0555
DH>> cedecor@acnet.net, dmhinds@acnet.net,
DH>> dhinds@prodigy.net.mx
DH>> Hablando se entiende la gente.
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