Vegetarian Food Labeling

Attn: Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

We, the undersigned, do hereby petition for a change in food-labeling guidelines set forth by your administration.

It is no myth that more and more Americans are becoming health-conscious consumers; this is no surprise given the statistics in the United States for cancer and heart disease, and the resulting deaths from these maladies. While this petition aims to specifically address the issue that there are no laws requiring food products to be labeled as vegetarian or vegan, it should also be noted that many omnivorous Americans would like to see an increase in responsible labeling of what they routinely buy and feed themselves and their families.

We applaud the mandatory labeling of allergens contained in food products; however, with 6\%-8\% of American adults now estimated to be vegetarian or vegan, these laws should be extended to include any ingredients or derivatives originating from an animal source. Many strict vegetarians do indeed react to the inadvertent consumption of an animal product. While said reactions could not, and should not, be described as allergic, the resulting discomfort (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, etc.) could be avoided by simply requiring animal-derived ingredients to be listed as such.

It is understood that many petitions of this type have been initiated in the past years. We, as United States citizens and responsible consumers, are often inclined to believe that our concerns should be addressed, and this particular concern can be addressed by none other than your administration.

We sincerely appreciate and support your efforts to make choosing our food products easier and safer for us and our families.