GMO blues

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http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2007/7/3/122551/9999

 

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Edible Media: Gene blues

Posted by Tom Philpott at 3:10 PM on 03 Jul 2007

Read more about: food | agriculture | industrial ag | GMOs

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Edible Media takes an occasional look at interesting or deplorable food

journalism on the web.

 

I spent the weekend in Atlanta at the first-ever U.S. Social Forum -- an

extremely interesting event, but not the place to go for someone needing to

catch up on rest. Now I'm laid up with a sore throat, which gave me a chance to

do today something I never get to do anymore -- curl up with the print version

of the Sunday New York Times.

 

I especially like to dig into the business section, where the " paper of record "

often deposits its most interesting stuff.

 

I liked Gretchen Morgenson's piece ($ub req'd) on how investors are suddenly

fleeing risk -- meaning that the stock market boom of the past several years,

built on leveraged buyouts, subprime lending, and various forms of dodgy

financial engineering, may be be about to unravel.

 

But what really got my fevered brain ticking was Denise Curuso's article on

changes in gene theory -- specifically, evidence challenging the idea that genes

operate in isolation, with each sequence of the DNA tied to a single function.

 

In other words, the whole intellectual basis for the genetically modified seed

business may be flawed.

 

 

Industrial food thrives on isolation technologies.

 

 

“The Earth is not dying - she is being killed. And those who are killing her

have names and addresses.†— Utah Phillips