LIFESCIENCE: soil and seeds

[sonya <rapop@socrates.berkeley.edu>]

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ARS ELECTRONICA FESTIVAL 99
LIFESCIENCE
Linz, Austria, September 04 - 09
http://www.aec.at/lifescience
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Prof. Birgit Richard,

I have enjoyed reading your contributions. The following are a few of my
thoughts.

Best regards,
Sonya Rapoport



The unstable balance between production and consumption of food on earth is
a primary concern. As demographic growth continues the problem is
exacerbated. Genetic engineering in developed countries is aimed at
reducing excessive pesticides, increasing yield and profit. The claim is
that such modifications will lead to economies of production we have yet to
see.

The great drawback is the reduction of a genetic base. The economic giants
are encoding the newly genetically modified seeds with a terminator that
eliminates a second generation of production by the farmers. This compels
users to regularly purchase the seeds after harvest.

Although European farmers over fertilize their plants, the developing
countries do not have enough money to buy chemical fertilizers and have not
applied current technology. It is unlikely that they will have enough money
to buy genetically modified seeds in order to generate plants where they
are most needed..

1. The biotech companies must be urged to stop putting terminators in their
products.

2. Research must be undertaken to establish risk factors in transgenic foods.

3. Full disclosure of the maniipulated source must be written on the
product's label.

Sonya Rapoport
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