From: hal@finney.org
Date: Thu Jun 28 2001 - 18:37:20 MDT
Just an article I found in a quick search describing how conventional
breeding techniques can cause troubles too. It is by Dr David Tribe,
a senior biotechnologist at the University of Melbourne's Department of
Microbiology and Immunology.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/0004/06/features/features8.html
The scare of toxicity is yet another reason to applaud GM food. Food
toxicity is found in both GM foods and conventional foods, but the
extra attention given to GM foods has worked in favour of consumers.
For instance, Brazil nut protein, whose gene was inserted into
soybeans, was found to cause allergic reactions in Brazil-nut-sensitive
people. As a result, this novel food has not entered the marketplace.
Such screening is not possible with conventionally bred hybrids, and
the danger is real. Natural varieties of potato and celery have in the
past led to the selling of foods that were hazardous. Relatively little
fuss was made about them and they were withdrawn from the market.
Conventionally bred potatoes and celery still appear on supermarket
shelves without warning labels.
In the face of the hysteria and vilification campaign, we must recall
that genetic modification of crops began some 9,000 years ago and
both inbreeding and cross-breeding have played an important role
in the origins of all our staple foods. Bread wheat, for example,
contains virtually the complete chromosomal sets from three distinct
grasses whose relatives grow wild today in the Middle East. It is an
inter-species hybrid and is now mankind's most valuable crop.
Hal
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