From: Mary Iber [miber@soli.inav.net]
Sent: Saturday, March 24, 2001 9:49 PM
To: fdadockets@oc.fda.gov
Subject: Docket 00N-1396 & Docket 00D-1598

Dear Food and Drug Administration,

I am very concerned about the lack of strict standards for generically engineered products.

1) I feel strongly that any products containing genetically engineered elements, however small a part of the overall product, should be labeled clearly so anyone can know which products contain such elements.

2) There should be extensive testing performed before any genetically engineered product goes to market. I do not mean testing for 6 months or less. I don't think the effects on humans over the long term can be known that soon, and playing with the health of humans should not be done lightly.

3) When consumer health is an issue, much more attention should be paid to consumer attitudes than to those who control the industry and are likely to profit financially from the sales. In the long run, we will all lose if, down the road, genetically altered products are found to have health risks. We have so many risks we must take already living in our current world full of pesticides and air pollutants. How much more does anyone think our human nervous systems can stand?  And how much do we value our true health?  When we make compromises, we are sacrificing our utilization of a fully functioning nervous system, which probably has more potential than any of us can even imagine.

I urge you to impose the strictest controls on genetic engineering. If it is allowed to continue to penetrate the markets, at the very least there should be full disclosure on the packaging, that is visible and clear to allow any shopper to make an informed choice. 

Let us not continue to compromise our futures and the futures of our children by allowing altered items with short-term testing to be available without labeling.
It is the responsibilty of those who have been chosen for decision-making positions to hold up the highest known standards for the best long-term interest of humans on this planet.

Sincerely,

Mary Iber
Consulting Librarian for the Sciences
Cornell College
Mt. Vernon, Iowa 52314