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Biotech / Medical : Monsanto Co. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dan Spillane who wrote (1125)	2/9/1999 9:17:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 2539

02/09 17:01 Technology seen pointing to disease-fighting foods By Doug Palmer ORLANDO, Fla., Feb 9 (Reuters) - Advances in biotechnology hold out the promise of foods that may help fight heart disease, cancer and osteoporosis or are simply more nutritious, top seed company officials said on Tuesday. In a development with major consequences for farmers, grain companies, transportation firms, food manufacturers and ultimately everyone, the scientific advances are changing how food is produced, stored and distributed, the executives said. "We will never look at the world the same way again," said Edward Shonsey, president and chief executive of Novartis Seeds Inc., one of two major seed companies at the U.S. Grains Council's annual meeting. The opportunities available from a better understanding of human and plant gene structures "are limitless and far reaching. They will affect every - every - aspect of your and my life," Shonsey said. The first wave of biotechnology has focused mainly on boosting agricultural production by modifying the gene structure of crops to increase their resistance to herbicides or to produce their own pesticides. Those advances have been made with basically five or six genes. But in the future, seed companies would have "hundreds of genes" at their disposal, said Hugh Grant, co-president of Monsanto Co.'s agricultural division. Grant said that created the possibility to produce not only "more food" but also "better food." Ultimately, as companies honed their understanding of "what makes crops tick," plants would become "factories" producing raw material for various human needs, he said. But to reach the point where wheat became heart medicine would require major changes for U.S. grain farmers and the grain industry, said William Kirk, president of DuPont Co.'s agricultural division. "In the past, food has been anonymous. When you look to the future, food is going to be traceable back to the field," Kirk said. Currently, only about 5 percent of U.S. corn acreage is planted with "value-enhanced" varieties that contain traits that distinguish them from conventional corn. Most individual types of grains are mixed freely as they are transported from farm to truck, from truck to elevator, and from elevator to railcar for shipment to domestic or foreign customers. For potential new varieties to deliver on their promise to help fight cancer or produce more nutritious food, they will need to be kept separate through the marketing chain so they do not get mixed with other varieties. So far, farmers and grain companies have taken only small steps toward such an "identity-preserved" system. To expand that would require new investment, but the concept was familiar since the industry had always handled corn, wheat and other grains separately, Kirk said. Many of the potential new varieties would be genetically modified crops, so consumer acceptance would be key to their success, Grant said. In the United States, consumers have barely batted an eye at genetically modified crops. But reaction has been more negative in the European Union, although government regulators have approved several varieties. Due to population growth and the increasing "Westernization of diet" around the world, Monsanto estimated that existing crop acreage would have to produce 75 percent more food by 2020, Grant said.