Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/

[Jim Allman <jim AT ibang.com>]

On Jun 23, 2004, at 10:55 AM, zman wrote:
> And if you would look at the Genomes for those plants
> you are so worried abot you would see that they contain the same 
> proteins
> and amino acids anyway....

Sure, but isn't this like saying that software virii are benign, 
because they contain the same opcodes as legitimate software? It's the 
combination and subsequent behavior that count.

One big difference: we can pretty thoroughly analyze any piece of 
software to determine what it does. I gather that the full expression 
of genes is much murkier, not at all thoroughly understood, so I don't 
think it's superstitious to "expect the unexpected" when we tinker. 
(I'd love to be wrong here, please let me know..)

I believe that on balance, GM foods offer more promise than threat. But 
it seems like we're pretending more knowledge than we actually have, 
and that a big mistake here will be the gift that keeps on giving. 
Kudzu, anyone?

Some have suggested using insurance to cover the remote-but-serious 
risks of innovation in GM foods, nanotech, etc. It would impose an 
up-front cost on investors who might otherwise plunge in without 
considering those risks, so Bill Joy can get some sleep. What do you 
think?

  =jimA=

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jim Allman
Interrobang Digital Media
http://www.ibang.com/
(919) 649-5760