RE: That *gene* thang again......

I don't know about the rest of you folks but it kinda
takes the heart out of gardening for me to see biotechnology
(good or bad) developing new flowers, colours, fragrances
etc to order.  

Taken to an extreme you could theoretically place an 
order for a custom made garden plant sourced from a laboratory
in some industrial estate.

I feel gardeners would be better served by sticking to the 
good old fashioned plant breeding methods,  retaining some of
the mystery and thrill in gardening.  

Not much fun in a new colour or fragrance when its originally sourced from
a lab supplies manual instead of some exotic hidden valley in China eh ???

Nature is far more mysterious!

rod

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Rod Randall
Weed Risk Assessment
Weed Science Group, Agriculture Western Australia

                 "I weed..." 
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> ----------
> From: 	Ccopuntia@aol.com
> Reply To: 	Ccopuntia@aol.com
> Sent: 	Wednesday, 16 June 1999 9:33 AM
> To: 	medit-plants@ucdavis.edu
> Subject: 	That *gene* thang again......
> 
> Hello all Medits -
> 
> Considering the recent controversy, thought you might be interested in
> this 
> excerpt which just arrived in my mailbox today, this one about flowers
> versus 
> food:
> 
> <<GMPRO greEn-MAIL, for June 15, 1999
> A weekly e-mail from editor David Kuack
> GMPRO: The monthly magazine for the greenhouse growing 
> professional.
> 
> * Florigene, a flower biotechnology company in Victoria, Australia, 
> introduced violet carnation Moonshadow last week. It's the first in a 
> range of new flowers containing the company's patented blue gene 
> taken from petunias. The company is looking at incorporating the gene 
> into other crops, including roses, and plans to develop a range of colors 
> from violet to blue. The first Moonshadow crop for U.S. sales was 
> produced in Ecuador and scheduled for shipment this month. Florigene 
> expects to market 500,000 flowers per month in the U.S. The company 
> has also developed technology to extend vaselife of cut flowers, called 
> EVA. florigene@florigene.com.au  >>
> 
> Best to all, C. Carter
> Martinez, CA USA (an avid propagator)
>
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