On Mon, 21 Jul 2003 23:20:12 +0100, ddwyer
wrote:

In article , Moosh:]
writes

Thanks Gordon, good point.
Not thet there's much more we can do about it than what we are doing.
If you want to convert a sheep or a bacteria to produce a bioactive
material such as a protein as a theraputic agent the way foreward is not
to breed or mutate but GM a species. I.e. create a self replicating
factory. GM food has the potential to generate unwanted materials that
mutation and breeding cannot.

Of course. The difference is that GM gives us much more control, than
the much more random cross-pollinating.

Unwanted material in foodstuffs will be the rare hazard that we wont
recognise until too late.

But it is much more likelly from cross pollinating or even new random
mutations, than GM.

Sadly whole populations will consume; not just
the ill for whom the risk would ba acceptable.

You are talking about engineering threapeutic substances into foods
for all? I think this is probably not the best way to go.
Unless it is for an epidemic, or has clear public health benefits,
like water fluoridation.