High Tech Harvest Understanding Genetically Modified Food Plants

by Lurquin, Paul

• ISBN13: 9780813341750
• ISBN10: 0813341752
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-04-09
• Publisher: Basic Books

Summary

Genetically engineered plant products line the shelves of our grocery stores, but we don't know which ones they are because no label identifies them. Should we be concerned? It is true that biotech companies are saying that engineered corn and canola are safe, but are they telling the truth? InHigh Tech Harvest, Paul Lurquin answers these questions and more, believing that the public has a right to know and understand how its food is manipulated at the most basic level, that of the DNA itself. With the goal to inform, and a mission to reinforce the importance of the scientific method, Paul Lurquin writes a comprehensive and user-friendly description of the scientific origins, the development, and the applications of genetically modified plants throughout the world today. Lurquin argues that only with an understanding of the basic science can people make informed and reasonable decisions about genetically modified foods.

Author Biography

Dr. Paul Lurquin, Ph.D. is Professor of Genetics at the School of Molecular Biosciences, Washington State University. He is one of the pioneers of the science of plant genetic engineering and the author of The Green Phoenix: A History of Genetically Modified Plants (2001).

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. ix
Preface	p. xi
Chronology of Events	p. xv
Introduction	p. 1
Before Biotechnology	p. 7
Before Genetics	p. 7
The Discovery of Genes	p. 9
Genes Are Located on Chromosomes	p. 19
From Mendel to DNA	p. 25
The Chemical Nature of Genes	p. 26
The Structure of DNA	p. 30
The Flow of Genetic Information in Cells	p. 35
Genes in the Test Tube: The Recombinant DNA Revolution	p. 41
Cloning	p. 43
Another Technique	p. 50
Identifying Cloned Genes	p. 52
The Fine Structure of Genes	p. 54
Safety	p. 58
Difficult Beginnings and Great Triumphs: The Transformation of Plants	p. 63
False Starts	p. 65
An Unlikely Ally	p. 73
Agrobacterium Does Transfer Genes to Plants After All	p. 77
The Taming of Agrobacterium	p. 83
Back to the Beginning	p. 87
Plant Biotechnology: Accomplishments and Goals with Food Plants	p. 95
Crop Protection	p. 97
Boosting Yields Through Enhanced Photosynthesis	p. 109
Produce Quality and Nutrition	p. 112
Patent Protection	p. 116
Other Applications of Plant Biotechnology	p. 119
Salt and Frost Tolerance	p. 120
Plant Biotechnology and Human Health	p. 125
How Plant Biotechnology Could Be Used to Clean and Monitor the Environment	p. 129
A Most Unusual Application: Plastics-making Plants	p. 131
Controversies	p. 137
Opposition to Genetic Technology	p. 138
Biotechnologists Respond	p. 155
The Next Green Revolution	p. 156
Monopolies	p. 157
What About the Third World?	p. 159
Conclusions	p. 162
Epilogue	p. 165
Plasmids	p. 169
A Note on GM Animals and Potential Applications to Humans	p. 173
Regulation of Biotechnology	p. 177
Population Growth, Agronomical Production, and GM Plants	p. 181
Notes	p. 187
Glossary	p. 193
References	p. 199
Index	p. 205
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