Re: Terminator Seeds.....Voices can be heard! (long!)

In a message dated 1/29/99 2:24:06 AM Central Standard Time,
gctranslations@ibm.net writes:

<< 
 I am afraid this statement is false. Recently it has been proven
scientifically
 that leaking of genetic material from one species to other species (even of
 different species) does take place in nature. >>

I will bet that 90 percent of the plants in your yard are the result of this
"genetic leaking."

<<So now we might make a real plague for ourselves.>> 

What are you talking about?
I cannot see were this comes form except irrational misunderstanding.


<<What about nature and ecology??>>


Humankind has been playing around with genetic recombination for 10,000 years.
I relies that those that are afraid of this technology in relationship to
plants have come by this fear by not understanding genetics. It is easier to
fear something than it is to understand it.

Lets be clear-they are not making New genes, but taking genes from other
plants and using them to produce a different plant. It is the same as any
breeding program except faster and it over comes genetic incompatibility
between different plant taxon.

99% of our food crops are the result of this genetic recombination, breeding
or slicing a gene in using what ever method is used to produce an altered
plant results in the same type of product.

The gene used for the terminator seeds is not an uncommon gene, If I remember
correctly the gene they are working with came from a common garden plant
Saponaria.

Again I. State I am not in favor of this technology or against it.( I am open
to both arguments for and against it) . But what I do not like is hysteria
generated from fearmongering and erroneous information.  This seams to be one
of the major down sides to the Internet.

I think these topics are out of the scope of this list, but maybe not, no one
has complained yet.
The reason I am making any response at all to this is that when this type of
misinformation is dumped on people, they do not have the time or the access to
information to find out if all the hype is true.  Someone has to present a
balanced view to "chicken little" fears. 
Will man destroy "nature"-- not by recombinant DNA in plants, Greed - maybe!


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