DESIGNERFOODS

People think of “genetically altered food”with the same suspicion and distrust that they have when they hear about cloning animals, raising chickens with hormones, or building up muscles with steroids. All interfere with nature. Is this good? Is it safe? Before you make up your mind about genetic alteration, let’s find out what it is.
　　What Is Genetic Alteration?
　　Biotechnology, the science that deals with

genetic alteration, is a relatively new discipline that alters a plant on the molecular level to improve it in some way. Let’s get down to this level. DNA (short for deoxyribonucleic acid) is one of the basic elements in the cells of every living organism, whether they’re from a mushroom or a dinosaur or a human being. DNA provides the building blocks for your body’s genes. Each gene regulates a trait, like the color of your hair, the shape of an elephant’s trunk, or the sweetness of Chinese peas.
　　Scientists can clip a gene from the DNA of one plant and splice it into the DNA of another plant that’s genetic alteration. Of course, it really isn’t as simple as it sounds. But it does work. The question is, Why do it? Here's an example. The strawberry plant is very sensitive to frost. If it’s unprotected in the field and the temperature drops below freezing, that’s the end of your strawberry crop for this year. So you don’t plant your strawberry plants until you are sure there will not be any more frost.
　　But parsley is resistant to frost. It has built-in antifreeze chemicals that protect it from even heavy frost. If the biotechnologist can splice that gene responsible for producing antifreeze chemicals from the parsley into the strawberry plant, the farmer may be able to start planting strawberries three or four weeks earlier in the spring. We’ll have an earlier crop and longer harvest season.
　　Another example is plants' resistance to disease or pests or drought. Some have it, others don't. The ones that don't may benefit from the ones that do by genetic alteration.
　　Changing Plants Isn't New
　　Ever since humans started growing plants some 10,000 years ago instead of picking them in the wild, farmers have improved plants a great deal. The original apples were the size of crabapples, bitter and flavorless; green peppers were cherry-size and so hot that you were in agony should you bite into one. Wild strawberries were no bigger than M&Ms. Without altering some of our plants, we couldn't have survived and supported today's huge world population.
　　The difference between then and now is the length of time that is necessary to develop new crop strains. Back then, farmers always selected and saved the best of their crops to plant as the next year's seeds. This strategy of repeated selection for specific food qualities allowed food plants to slowly improve until we got large, juicy, tasty apples, sweet green peppers, and strawberries that take more than one bite to eat.
　　Today's genetic alteration makes the same kinds of changes, but the results come in a few years.
　　How Safe Is Genetic Alteration?
　　No one knows for certain how safe genetic alteration is. Scientists believe that most alterations are as safe as the traditional method of slow plant breeding for improved food plants. There are genetically altered products that we have been using for at least 10 years without ill effect. Bakers' yeast that produces more bubbles and a cheese enzyme to produce cheese are two examples.
　　There are many, many genetically altered products ready for your supermarket or waiting for government approval: potatoes with properties that allow them to absorb less fat in the french fryer, rice that has higher nutrition, seed oil that is less harmful for our overweight bodies, celery and carrots that stay crisp longer, and coffee with better flavor and less caffeine.
　　What will your children be reaching for in the supermarket someday? Will it be the glow-in-the-dark icing now being developed (containing genetically engineered algae), or perhaps "all natural" foods will once again be the rage. The fact is that some of us may never be comfortable with "designer food" . After all, it just isn't au naturel! Fortunately, our supermarkets still offer fare for the less adventurous.