The Tao of Biotechnology

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

Genetic Engineering Non-News

There is an article in the news from the Institute of Food Research (UK) about a new “super broccoli” that has been developed to contain more of the nutrients that are supposed to fight cancer. The new product contains 3.4 times as much sulforaphane as broccoli normally does. Is this a triumph for genetic engineering? No. According to the article the broccoli was developed using traditional plant breeding methods. Hooray for Nature, and for the scientists who honored her.

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posted by Ed Bremson, MFA at 10:32 AM

2 Comments:

  • I've been waiting for this development, after learning that sulforaphane may reduce my risk of the colon cancer that killed my mom, uncle & granny. But I still see no mention of the 'super-broccoli' in my seed catalogs. Any idea which company will be selling the seed, and what the cultivar name will be? I eat collards, broccoli, cabbage or a salad of chinese greens daily.

    Interesting about the gene for retention of the sulforaphane. No other cancer in my famiy, so perhaps there's a separate gene that predisposes to colon cancer, regardless of that gene.

    By Blogger Dacelo, at 12:11 PM  

  • No, I really don't know anything more about this than was in the article. I see a lot of stuff out there these days about broccoli. I talk about it a lot at The Tao of Politics. Try this link:

    http://search.blogger.com/?as_q=broccoli&ie=UTF-8&ui=blg&bl_url=taoofpolitics.blogspot.com

    There is also some stuff about turmeric, and curry. I eat broccoli, cauliflower, drink red wine, and I've started eating a lot more Indian food, as well as cooking with curry a lot.

    By Blogger Ed Bremson, at 1:11 PM  

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