Re: Re: CULT - Genetic Engineering

Products are pulled from the grocers' shelves in response to public fear.
That fear is sometimes justified, but people can fear things that are harmless
or be quite unconcerned about things that are dangerous. Things that are
new or mysterous are more frightening than the familar regardless of
danger.

In traditional "genetic engineering" two species can be crossed resulting
in a plant with all the genes of both parents. That may be followed by
several generations of selection trying to get a plant with the desired combination
of genes from the parent species. This is a difficult process often impedded
by poor fertillity.

Usually with gene splicing, a single gene from one "parent" is added to the
full set of genes from the other parent. This does not sound any more
dangerous than the traditional approach. With gene splicing you are
not limited to closely related species. If someone were transfering certain
genes from poison ivy to iris, I might be concerned, but genes for flower
pigments should be should be no more dangerous than traditional
hybridization.

   Ken Walker

wmoores@watervalley.net wrote:

>         One news report stated that there was fear of transmission of
> some sort of  virus to human beings from food animals that ate this
> particular corn.  I really don't know, but there seems to be some
> risk when affected corn products are pulled from the grocers'
> shelves.


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