An Austrian monk named Gregor Mendel started it all in the 1860s, when he observed that garden peas inherited various traits in a predictable manner. He concluded that characteristics are passed from generation to generation by elements that are now called genes, and his work led to the science of genetics.
Mendel would no doubt be astonished at the turns his science has taken in recent years, as scientists are finding they can use genes not only to predict results but to engineer them.Considerable progress has been made over the past decade in the area of agricultural and food biotechnology, Zachary S. Wochok, chairman of the California Industrial Biotech Association, told food writers at a seminar in Orlando, Fla., recently. "We are now embarking upon an era during which genetically engineered crops will have a significant bearing on the quality and flavor of foods we will eat."
Scientists are looking at two major opportunities, he says: pest control and improved crops. Foods can be designed that are more resistant or tolerant to harmful insects and diseases and thus reduce the amount of chemicals needed for growth.
Researchers are also looking at ways to:
- Delay ripening and extend shelf life of such foods as tomatoes, strawberries and melons.
- Improve flavor and texture by keeping natural sugars from turning to starch.
- Produce superior edible vegetable oils and shortenings.
Work is probably farthest along with tomatoes, he said. "Tomatoes represent a $2 billion market in this country, and the major complaint is lack of flavor." There is a lot of potential for a great tasting tomato that can be delivered to the market without spoilage and damage and has a long shelf life after picking.
But, he points out, it is still going to be awhile before genetically engineered products are sold commercially. "Several are now in advance stages of development and undergoing extensive field trials and evaluation by the Food and Drug Administration to make sure all the safety questions are suitably answered."
Joseph Massey, president of Genmark, a Salt Lake-based research firm, approaches genetics from the dairy angle.
Genmark is looking at breeding cows that produce milk that is predictable in quantity, fat content and level of protein. "It represents one of the most exciting developments in animal breeding practices, even rivaling the contribution of artificial insemination techniques that are now more than 40 years old," said Massey.
Two scientific techniques are involved, he said: marker-assisted selection and embryo cloning. Using these techniques, it will be possible to:
- Have a dairy herd where every cow produces 30,000 pounds of milk that is high in protein, low in fat.
- Reduce overall fat content of meat by as much as 40 percent, at the same time reducing feed requirements by as much as 10 percent, and to select for such traits as marbling, tenderness, palatability and fatness.
- Produce milk high in Kappa-casein and Beta-lactoglobulin specifically for cheese production.
A third area where "designer foods" may benefit consumers is aquaculture - production of fish.
We are eating more fish than ever, said Alan G. Hunter, professor of animal science at the University of Minnesota. In the United States, per capita consumption of fish was 15.9 pounds in 1989, and is expected to increase 30 percent by the year 2000. Global demand will significantly increase as well.
"Many of the world's commercially important wild fisheries will not be able to keep up with this demand. Hence, more fish will be harvested from aquaculture."
Currently, said Hunter, about 10 percent of the fish we consume is raised on farms. But it is expected that aquacultural production in the United States could increase by 200 percent to 400 percent in the next decade.
And it is on the farm - not in the wild - where the impact of biotechnology will be felt. Gene-altering techniques are aimed at production of faster-growing fish by inserting growth-promoting genes.
Questions that consumers will have about this fish include: Are gene-altered fish safe to eat? Are the fish we buy going to be fresher? Are the gene-altered fish going to be less expensive to buy? When can we expect to see this product of genetic engineering in the supermarket?
"In my opinion," said Hunter, "gene-altered fish when they arrive in the market place will be SAFE. Before any gene-altered product gets to the consumer it will have been fully tested for safety by many government agencies."
Whether it will make fish fresher remains to be seen. "Most fish have a shelf life of 7 to 12 days." Initially, he said, gene-altered fish will sell at a slightly higher price than normal fish because they will be marketed as being superior.
And, he said, it will probably be about 10 years before gene-altered fish reach the supermarket.
These are exciting times in the industry, said Wochok. "Based on the progress made in genetically engineered food crops, the consumer soon will have the opportunity to test the fruits of the labor that has gone into developing the foods of the future."
And in the final analysis, he said, it is the consumer who will decide whether they succeed.
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New developments in food research
Gene alteration is not the only food/diet research going on these days. Here's a look at some developments from the Agricultural Research Service:
- Dried parsley flakes - sprinkled generously on main dishes and salads - could add small but significant amounts of several essential trace elements to your diet, such as copper, iron, magnesium, molybdenum, boron, zinc and manganese.
- A new rice variety that smells like popcorn has been released for commercial production. The rice also has higher yield, better milling quality and more resistance to disease than other domestically grown varieties.
- Soggy sandwiches may become a thing of the past. An edible, colorless film is being tested that provides a moisture barrier between filling and bread. It could protect pie crusts, layers of filled cakes, pizza crust and other food. The film doesn't interfere with other food flavors.
- An expedition to Malaysia to gather samples of plants that may be lost to rain-forest destruction brought back 85 different specimens of fruit and nuts. They selected six of the most promising for U.S. markets: manga air, a relative of mango; bruas, with a bright red fruit; medang, a relative of the avocado with rose-colored fruit the size of plums; langsat, about the size of a large grape with a thick brown skin and a soft, sweet flesh; terap, a relative of fig and mulberry; mata kuching, a relative of the lychee.
These fruits are now being tested here. However, it will be several years before these they reach supermarket shelves.
- Health-conscious consumers may one day look for vitamin A in tomatoes that are carrot-orange instead of ketchup red. A new orange tomato could have about half the vitamin A of the average carrot and could easily be in the same range of vitamin A content as sweet potatoes - about 35-40 times higher then current commercial tomato varieties.
- Brisk walking several times a week along with extra calcium can help prevent osteoporosis. A group of women who walked at a pulse-raising pace for 45 minutes four times a week increased spine bone by 0.5 percent during the year, while sedentary women lost 7 percent, regardless of their calcium intake.