I think this whole fuss about GM foodstuff is essentially a "bogey yarn" for Europe's ageing population, that is, a society that is not facing famine/malnutrition issues. I mean, why not let the Chinese proceed with rice like the Europeans did with potatoes about 500 years ago? After all, the introduction of potatoes in Europe in the XVIth century somehow was an import of a genetically alien crop:
History and Origin of the Potato
sunspiced.com
Excerpt:
No one knows exactly when potatoes were first planted in European soil but, in 1573, records of a Spanish hospital in Seville show that sacks of potatoes were ordered for provisions. The potato was somewhat slow to catch on, in part because people realized that it was a member of the nightshade family, all of which are very poisonous. At about the same time, some historians have written that Sir Francis Drake brought back some potatoes from a trip to the West Indies. If so, these were probably part of the stores of a Spanish ship he had fought with. The potatoes were given to Sir Walter Raleigh, and were cultivated at both his estates in Ireland and, later on, Virginia.
Potato cultivation spread to the low countries and Switzerland. With its introduction to Germany in the 1620's, the nutritional properties of the potato were finally acknowledged. Frederick the Great, the Prussian ruler, ordered his people to plant and eat them as a deterrent to famine, a common and recurrent problem of that period. The people's fear of poisoning led him to enforce his orders by threatening to cut off the nose and ears of those who refused. Not surprisingly, this was effective and by the time of the Seven Years War (1756-1763), potatoes were a basic part of the Prussian diet.
A similar story occurred in France. A young French agriculturist and chemist, Antoine Augustin Parmentier, made it his mission to popularize the potato after his experience as prisoner of war in Prussia. With some clever marketing to King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, and subtle scheming to convert the thinking of the populace, Parmentier achieved his goals. Potato dishes were created in great variety and the potato became a delicacy enjoyed by the nobility. The French populace soon coveted potatoes for themselves. [...]
______________
Also worth a look:
mbbnet.umn.edu |
