A while ago, there were some intriguing posts about concerns over genetically engineered soybeans that might be used in soy formula or gentically engineered and other such "Frankenfoods". Having once upon a very long time ago done my undergraduate degree in molecular biology and worked at a genetic engineering firm that was working on modifications to crop plants, I was geniunely curious about the specific fears that some of you had about these genetic modifications. In the late 70s and early 80s when I worked in what was then an exciting new field, ethics were discussed extensively and the corporate focus had not yet taken hold. Many at the firm I worked for sincerely believed that they would be contributing something significant towards more nutritious or better yielding crop plants. I left the firm, not because of fears about the monstrous plants they would create, but because I thought the process of working on single plants far too isolated from the ultimate consumer of these crops and from the root causes of nutritional problems I had seen while in Peace Corps in the Democratic Republic of Congo. My fears do not stem from genetic modifications per se. Thousands of years ago, humans began the process of genetically modifying crop plants and domesticated animals through breeding. There are both notable successes and notable failures in that process. Personally, I mourn the loss of tasty tomatoes that have been forsaken for the more easily shipped varieties that were bred prior to genetic engineering. One has only to look at the bizarre shapes and sizes of some of our domestic pets to recognize that we have long been altering nature through genetics. The Ti plasmid that was one technique for genetically engineering plants actually occurred naturally in tobacco plants. I see engineering as a tool that, like plant breeding, can be used or misused. So, I was trying to think of why genetic engineering would cause such fear as to label the products of this process "Frankenfoods". The list I came up with (not necessarily in any order of priority) was: 1) Corporations not informing the public of what modifications have taken place (which actually happens all the time with other plant breeding). 2) Corporations not fully testing all the potentially harmful effects of the genetically modified products (which also happens all the time with plant breeding) 3) Corporations patenting genes so that low income farmers have to purchase seeds at a higher cost (e.g. the attempt to patent the gene for Basmati rice which is grown throughout India) 4) Corporations modifying the genes such that low income farmers can no longer propagate seeds on their own and must repeatedly purchase these from the corporations. 5) The rapidity and precision with which genetic engineering can take place such that it might be difficult to fully evaluate all of the new varieties and their potentially harmful effects. 6) Some of the harmful marketing practices of formula companies might be repeated in the approach to genetic engineering. 7) That the repeated attempts to "improve" formula might be miscontrued as approaching the qualities of human milk (as a nutritionist I don't believe we will ever really get to the bottom of all the components of foods let alone breast milk). I found this to be helpful in thinking through how I might approach analyzing the genetically engineered foods that will inevitably reach the market, and, as it appears from some of the posts, ultimately reach the market in the form of ever "improved" formula. But then I realized that I might be missing some of the other concerns and I would love to understand some of the other fears that some of you may have that I most certainly have missed. Susan Burger, PhD, MHS *********************************************** The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html