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internetworkers - Re: [internetworkers] Genetically modified foods - (was fahrenheit911, at a theater near you!)

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  • From: Lee Haslup <biglee AT haslups.com>
  • To: "Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/" <internetworkers AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [internetworkers] Genetically modified foods - (was fahrenheit911, at a theater near you!)
  • Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2004 16:34:42 -0400

The problem with applying common sense to the definition of GM is that the process is rather like peeling an onion. You can always take off the next layer and, when you are done, there is nothing left.
Farmers have been tinkering with the genomes of their species as long as there has been agriculture. They are always on the lookout for mutants or related species that can be used for hybridization. Whether the mutation is accidental or created by chemicals or radiation doesn't matter to the genome. Hybridization (especially crossing with related species) introduces a huge number of new genes, most of which need to be eliminated by repeated back-crossing with the standard stock. The idea being to eliminate as many of the extraneous genes as possible while keeping the few (often two or three) genes that give the desired traits. In the meanwhile you create a genetic glissando of intermediate hybrids.

For an example of this process, consider the orange cauliflower that was bred from a mutant that someone found in a field in Canada. The original mutant has tons of beta carotene but is difficult to grow, tends to be rather small and not that tasty. After several generations of crossing with agriculturally better plants the new orange cauliflower will soon be available at your corner grocery store. It's difficult to say how it will differ genetically from a typical cauliflower but it will have at least one "defective" gene that regulates the production of beta carotene.

News stories chosen at random (by Google) :
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/1999/990707.htm
http://keyetv.com/nationalwire/OrangeCauliflower-aa/resources_news_html

Since the genetic attribute that was desired (that one gene) was known fairly early in the process, the same result could have been achieved by splicing it into a normal cauliflower. The resulting plant would be a GM food. It would actually be more of a known commodity (from a genetic point of view) since one can't know what other genes came along from the mutant. Nonetheless, the (real) hybrid cauliflower is likely to show up fairly soon in the "organic" foods section of the supermarket while its (hypothetical) GM cousin would be a frankenfood. People would worry that it might escape from the farm at any minute and start growing in the cracks in the sidewalks and crowding out the crabgrass in the lawn.

BigLee

Ian Meyer wrote:

the genes were modified, were they not?

sounds to me like whatever rules there are for the definition of GM need to be more common sense and less legalese

~ian


On Jun 24, 2004, at 11:14 AM, Michael Best wrote:

-----Original Message-----
From: Ian Meyer [mailto:ianmeyer AT mac.com]

yeah, a rule like, if you say is isn't GM, then it can't be GM.


Regarding herbicide resistance, I remember reading an article about some of
the different cases of this. Apparently, in one case, the company used
radiation to randomly alter DNA in seeds and then tested the resulting
plants for herbicide resistance. After many tries they found what they
wanted. Because of the method used, this particular plant was not
considered genetically modified.

-- Michael Best

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