RE: Hjacking Photosynthesis
November 19, 2016 at 1:07 pm
(This post was last modified: November 19, 2016 at 1:20 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
Well, it would be imprudent to say without studies, but there's no reason to believe that there would be. They're simply increasing levels of proteins already present by inserting genes from a model member of a family already used as a food crop (the model is a brassi, related to mustards and cabbages). Basically just giving the plant faster reflexes, in more digestible human terms.
Supposing that there were some unknown and heretofore undescribed risk in having elevated levels of these substances, it could only conceivable -be- an issue if you consumed incredible quantities of the modified crop raw (since cooking largely blanches photosynthetic apparatus and compounds) at which point the very real risk of e coli (and a whole host of other shit) becomes markedly higher than any phantom problem. People already -do- eat the model crops relatives, who also have the genes used, raw, and in mass quantities, in any case. One supposes that if there were a problem, we'd know by now. Those same genes make kale my favorite border plant, chiefly because they're much more efficient at making use of available sunlight and so stay green (and even blue, I love blue) well into lowlight conditions. I don;t eat kale, mind you, I just think it;s pretty and it grows nicely even under the shade and into the winter. I use it as an ornamental, lol. Imagine, however, if spring and summer crops had the ability that winter crops currently do, to do the same. A yield increase like this can also be translated into a gain in hardiness. More work wuld be needed (for example, improving the cell walls of fruiting crops), but we might be able to engineer tomatoes that can handle frost and even ice - as many brassis already do. Tobacco (the plant used in the study) and tomatoes, btw, relatives (along with potatoes, bonus).
Smokes, maters, and taters for all!
Supposing that there were some unknown and heretofore undescribed risk in having elevated levels of these substances, it could only conceivable -be- an issue if you consumed incredible quantities of the modified crop raw (since cooking largely blanches photosynthetic apparatus and compounds) at which point the very real risk of e coli (and a whole host of other shit) becomes markedly higher than any phantom problem. People already -do- eat the model crops relatives, who also have the genes used, raw, and in mass quantities, in any case. One supposes that if there were a problem, we'd know by now. Those same genes make kale my favorite border plant, chiefly because they're much more efficient at making use of available sunlight and so stay green (and even blue, I love blue) well into lowlight conditions. I don;t eat kale, mind you, I just think it;s pretty and it grows nicely even under the shade and into the winter. I use it as an ornamental, lol. Imagine, however, if spring and summer crops had the ability that winter crops currently do, to do the same. A yield increase like this can also be translated into a gain in hardiness. More work wuld be needed (for example, improving the cell walls of fruiting crops), but we might be able to engineer tomatoes that can handle frost and even ice - as many brassis already do. Tobacco (the plant used in the study) and tomatoes, btw, relatives (along with potatoes, bonus).
Smokes, maters, and taters for all!
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