Need Safeguards for Gene-Tinkered Foods

[John McCarthy]

In article <C9xCvw.GDL at world.std.com> megbrown at world.std.com (Meg S Brown) writes:

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   From: megbrown at world.std.com (Meg S Brown)
   Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA
   References: <1993Jun23.142216.2105 at pasteur.Berkeley.EDU> <1993Jun23.210436.6432 at alw.nih.gov> <C93z86.3vu at cunews.carleton.ca> <20qr5s$fe9 at uniwa.uwa.edu.au>
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   Date: Sat, 10 Jul 1993 01:16:43 GMT
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   In all this talk of genetically engineered food, no one has mentioned how
   these veggies TASTE.  Isn't that important?  For instance, I rarely buy
   tomatoes in market because they feel like they are made out of wood and
   cardboard would taste better.  If an engineered store tomato tastes as
   good as what I can get out of my garden, I MIGHT buy it.  Otherwise,
   forget it.  I don't care how herbicide resistant it is - flavor is what I
   am looking for.

   Just a thought

   megbrown at world.std.com Novice fisher who cooks and gardens


Your problem with store bought tomatoes is currently being worked on
via genetic engineering.  Tomatoes spoil rather quickly, and the American
wholesale and retail system can't get the tomatoes into the stores fast
enough after they are picked.  Therefore, they pick them green and
artificially ripen them with ethylene dioxide?.  Unfortunately, they
aren't as sweet as vine ripened tomatoes.  The solution being sought
is to breed tomatoes with less of the enzyme that causes them to spoil
quickly.  Then they can be picked after ripening.
--
John McCarthy, Computer Science Department, Stanford, CA 94305
*
He who refuses to do arithmetic is doomed to talk nonsense.