| Comment Record |
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Commentor |
Mr. Andrew Reynolds |
Date/Time |
2001-03-06 19:38:00 |
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Organization |
Mr. Andrew Reynolds |
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Category |
Individual |
| Comments for FDA General |
| Questions |
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1. General Comments
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I am a zoologist at Oregon State University. As both an environmentalist and a scientist, I truly appreciate the bright future that genetic engineering of food products offers as a replacement to dangerous (and ineffective) pesticide use. However, I also have several relatives that have allergies. I would hate for them to accidentally be exposed to a protein synthesized by a gene from some organism to which they are allergic to. Given the immense lack of understanding regarding human allergic reactions, I believe that such unlabeled products could pose a significant threat to public health. Mandatory labeling of genetically engineered food products would at the very least provide consumers with the information they need to make informed decisions regarding their own safety. Additionally, there is much that remains to be resolved in terms of the long-term ecological consequences of bioengineered foods, although its potential is truly remarkable.
Thank you very much for you time.
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