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While European restaurants race to footnote menus, reassuring concerned gourmands that no genetically modified ingredients were used in the preparation of their food, starving populations around the world eagerly await the next harvest of scientifically improved crops. "Mendel in the Kitchen" provides a clear and balanced picture of this tangled, tricky (and very timely) topic. Any farmer you talk to could tell you that we've been playing with the genetic makeup of our food for millennia, carefully coaxing nature to do our bidding. The practice officially dates back to Gregor Mendel - who was not a renowned scientist, but a 19th century Augustinian monk. Mendel spent many hours toiling in his garden, testing and cultivating more than 28,000 pea plants, selectively determining very specific characteristics of the peas that were produced, ultimately giving birth to the idea of heredity - and the now very common practice of artificially modifying our food. But as science takes the helm, steering common field practices into the laboratory, the world is now keenly aware of how adept we have become at tinkering with nature - which in turn has produced a variety of questions. Are genetically modified foods really safe? Will the foods ultimately make us sick, perhaps in ways we can't even imagine? Isn't it genuinely dangerous to change the nature of nature itself? Nina Fedoroff, a leading geneticist and recognized expert in biotechnology, answers these questions, and more. Addressing the fear and mistrust that is rapidly spreading, Fedoroff and her co-author, science writer Nancy Brown, weave a narrative rich in history, technology, and science to dispel myths and misunderstandings. In the end, Fedoroff argues, plant biotechnology can help us to become better stewards of the earth while permitting us to feed ourselves and generations of children to come. Indeed, this new approach to agriculture holds the promise of being the most environmentally conservative way to increase our food supply.
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MENDEL IN THE KITCHEN
MENDEL IN THE KITCHEN A S C I E N T I S T ' S V I E W O F G E N E T I C A L LY MODIFIED FOODS
Nina V. Fedoroff and Nancy Marie Brown
Joseph Henry Press Washington, D.C.
Joseph Henry Press • 500 Fifth Street, NW • Washington, DC 20001
The Joseph Henry Press, an imprint of the National Academies Press, was created with the goal of making books on science, technology, and health more widely available to professionals and the public. Joseph Henry was one of the founders of the National Academy of Sciences and a leader in early American science. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this volume are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Academy of Sciences or its affiliated institutions. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Fedoroff, Nina. Mendel in the kitchen : a scientist’s view of genetically modified foods / Nina V. Fedoroff and Nancy Marie Brown. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 0-309-09205-1 (cloth) 1. Genetically modified foods. 2. Plant genetic engineering. I. Brown, Nancy Marie. II. Title. TP248.65.F66F436 2004 641.3—dc22 2004014040 Cover design by Van Nguyen. Carrot image © 1999 by Corbis Corporation. Illustrations by Jeffery Mathison Copyright 2004 by Nina V. Fedoroff and Nancy Marie Brown. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
CONTENTS
Illustrations Preface 1 Against the Ways of Nature 2 The Wild and the Sown 3 The Power in the Earth 4 Genes and Species 5 Tinkering with Evolution 6 Making a Chimera 7 The Product or the Process 8 Is It Safe to Eat? 9 Poisoned Rats or Poisoned Wells 10 The Butterfly and the Corn Borer 11 Pollen Has Always Flown 12 The Organic Rule 13 Sustaining Agriculture 14 Sharing the Fruits