I am going to start exporting real socially and environmentally responsible tropical food - the world's first international CSA movement, to complement the organic scene - any takers? I'm not kidding.
DH
*********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********
On 19/05/99 at 1:15 PM Wilson, Dale wrote:
>Hello Douglas,
>
>>> We are beginning to use powerful genetic and informational
>>> tools to gain understanding of the biology underlying quality
>>> and yield. This understanding is necessary to make much new
>>> progress.
>
>> I would hope that the new progress you speak of is not
>> dependant on transgenetic technologies; that is,
>> technologies that can NOT be performed within the framework
>> of evolutionary, biological (rather than mechanical, surgical)
>> processes.
>
>I'm still not sure you have adequately defined "transgenic." I guess I
>would define it as taking pieces of DNA from one species and inserting them
>into the germline of different species.
>
>If you will go along with that definition, then the progress I am speaking
>about is not only transgenic. For example, I work with seed vigor and
>germinability. We know there are genetic factors involved, but we don't
>understand them very well. A lot of the Pioneer germplasm is good in this
>regard, but we don't know where most of these genes are. The heritability
>is not very good (ie, it is hard to measure) because the tests for seed
>vigor in lab and field are not good. If we understood the biology better
>and had better markers, we could make sure new seed parents all were
>excellent for seed vigor. Seed vigor is just a very small part of what
>Pioneer is working on, but most of the genes of interest are already in the
>corn genome. Soon Pioneer will have sequenced the expressed portions of the
>entire corn genome. But it will take many, many years to put together the
>biological jigsaw puzzle.
>
>> I have said before - the problem as I see it is not with
>> the goal (except where the goal is weighted toward
>> developing a proprietary more than truly useful
>> product) but rather with the methodology.
>
>Things that are not useful don't last too long in the marketplace. But more
>to the point, IMO the social and economic results of the concentration of
>genetic knowledge and material into a few private hands, is more
>consequential than whether we use this or that promoter or transgene.
>
>> 2).- To what extent do the current research priorities of
>> "Pioneer, and the other big breeding companies" permit
>> (or logically lead to) that.
>
>I don't have any inside information about this, but I suspect they are
>reevaluating how hard to push transgenics in light of European public
>distrust. All this will work to Pioneers favor though, because we are very
>good at traditional breeding and seed production. Internally we don't have
>any bias against transgenics.
>
>> 3).- What criteria are being used to define quality? (Yield
>> is a less complicated measurement - unless you take into
>
>Defining quality as usefulness of the grain, the directions include better
>nutritional quality, energy yield, milling/processing quality, special oils,
>reduced mycotoxins, special starches, reduced phytate (reduce P in manure),
>along with lots of other more exotic things that IMO don't have a high
>chance of success (but who knows?).
>
>> ...this is not a black and white issue).
>
>That's for sure!
>
>Dale
Douglas M. Hinds, Director
Centro para el Desarrollo Comunitario y Rural, A.C.
(Center for Community and Rural Development, Non-profit Association)
Cd. Guzman, Jalisco 49000 Mexico
U.S. Voice Mailbox: 1 630 300 0550 (e-mail linked)
U.S. Fax Mailbox: 1 630 300 0555 (e-mail linked)
Tel. & Fax: 011 523 412-6308 (direct - Cd. Guzman, Jalisco)
Tel. & Fax: 011 528 922-2424 (direct - Reynosa, Tamaulipas)
e-mail: cedecor@acnet.net, cedecor@ipnet.com.mx, dmhinds@acnet.net
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