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“It’s not where a gene comes from that matters,” one researcher said. “It’s what it does.”

This is one of a hundred valuable lines in Amy Harmon’s prize-worthy feature exploring a Florida orange grower’s quest for a gene that can save the citrus industry from a global bacterial threat. The article is “A Race to Save the Orange by Altering Its DNA.”

I urge you to read the piece, share it with others and discuss how this particular research effort might play out. There are lots of scenarios, some troubling, some hopeful. Here’s how I summarized things on Twitter:

Superb @amy_harmon story: Florida man’s quest for gene that can save the orange. //t.co/riZYbIZ2Y2 Could success demystify #GMO tech? — Andy Revkin (@Revkin) 28 Jul 13

Normalization of the role of genetic modification in agriculture — and a fadeout for “frankenfood” campaigns — is most likely to come as consumers realize the varied applications of this versatile, and increasingly vital, technology.

A valuable section of the article explores what Harmon calls the “Monsanto effect” — the tendency of anti-corporate sentiment to poison any discussion of genetically modified crops. [A recent Slate post showed how one can challenge big companies and support genetics in agriculture.]

See what you think, and feel.

Postscripts:



9:18 a.m. | On the other side of the world, similar issues are simmering around “golden rice” — a yellow variant of this keystone grain containing a gene that adds beta-carotene, the main dietary source of vitamin A. Read or listen to Dan Charles’s recent NPR report to get caught up. (This postscript was prompted by a Twitter reaction to Harmon’s story.)

10:55 a.m. | On Twitter Amy Harmon described how she began her research after reading Paul Voosen’s article about Hawaii’s papaya industry and genetic engineering:

@voooos your great Gonsalves profile, sent to me by @pcronald, was the genesis of my story on #GMO oranges //t.co/NSHA3GAbOz — Amy Harmon (@amy_harmon) 28 Jul 13

July 29, 3:10 p.m. | Andrew Pollack reports on an industry effort to build consumer confidence: