Re: [CH] Monsanto
peter gaffney (peter.g@telus.net)
Sun, 20 Feb 2000 09:24:13 -0800
Dave,
a couple of comments ...
pro-GM propagandists love to package the term "breeding for type" with
"genetic modification". fact is, they ain't the same thing.
selective breeding for a specific trait in a plant or animal, within
that
creature's own gene pool is one thing.
inserting the genetic material of one organism into another, (
genetically
dissimilar creature ) is what happens with GM. a different matter
entirely.
if i tried to say that baseball & bobsledding were the same, merely
because
they're both sports & they both start with the letter "B"...... well,
you get it.
as for "Burbank, Mendel and Carver" ? long dead & gone.
great contributors to modern science, but they were involved with
"selective
breeding" ONLY. they had nothing to do with GM.
but since we're name dropping, let's throw in Joe DiMaggio & Mother
Theresa.
they also had nothing to do with GM, but betcha they both wore jeans at
some
time; and it's a sure thing that they both had genes of their own.
is that enough to qualify them in the GM name game?
you wrote <<< varieties of cannibis are "genetically modified" by ...
dipping
the leaves of "ditch weed" in cochineal, >>>
actually, cochineal is the name of the insect which produces the red
textile dye
known as "carmine".
colchicine, is the toxin which induces diploid strains (thereby higher
THC levels)
in "pot" plants.
note: the words "colchicine" & "cochineal" look sorta similar.
but they're as different as ... "selective breeding" & "genetic
modification".
regards
peter g