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popsci_2013 01165.txt

#Should We Genetically Engineer The Orange To Save It? Orange growers are considering genetically modifying your morning OJ. Why? A terrible disease Scientific American calls it the most devastating disease of citrus plants in the world is spreading in the U s. Five years from now there may be no more Florida orange juice one University of Florida scientist J . Glenn Morris told Scientific American. The plant illness called citrus greening makes trees drop their leaves and stunts their fruit. It is very virulent. There's no known treatment for sick trees nor any pesticide that is able to kill sufficient numbers of the illness'carrier an insect called the Asian citrus psyllid to totally prevent the disease's spread. Scientists have concluded gradually that the only way to combat citrus greening is by engineering a resistant tree The New york times reports. That's not a decision to make lightly however. For one it'll be difficult and expensive. It may take a decade and $20 million The New york times reports. And perhaps more importantly there may be a consumer backlash. This is poised to be a prime case study about how loudly consumer dollars can speak about genetic engineering. Orange growers aren't the only ones who have avoided historically genetic modification because they know many shoppers are against it. Two years ago I talked with scientists who work on creating new commercial strawberry breeds. They told me the berry industry meticulously breeds new plant types in the old-fashioned way it involves brushing pollen from one plant onto another using a tiny paintbrush because researchers fear that consumers won't eat GMO berries. Major science organizations have concluded that just because a food is modified genetically doesn't necessarily mean it harms human health. Nevertheless many consumers find GMOS strange or scary. Some individuals and organizations worry that GMOS have long-term risks that studies haven't yet detected. Such worries come through in Europe's stringent genetically modified food laws and recent ballot initiatives in the U s. to label genetically modified items. Without headlines like The End of Orange juice the story of a citrus disease sounds boring. Yet citrus greening articles are among the most fun science stories I've read this year. They're kind of detective stories you have to hunt down where the disease came from with plenty of action you've got to reduce infections somehow. The New york times piece is a fascinating read bringing in the emotions around genetic engineering as well as the ominous danger to the fruit. How is this different from the disease that went around the world killing grape vines? Some places in the world went unscathed and then old healthy vines were grafted onto the new. The orange juice industry has some dirty secrets anyways. For once if you're drinking processed orange juice and I bet very few of you fresh squeeze it every day then you're drinking methanol. When juice is processed first the methanol in it is bound to pectin and passes through your body harmlessly. Over a day or two though that methanol starts to separate at an increasing rate and gets worse every passing day. Eventually the healthy substance you think you are drinking is not very good for you at all. This is a simple fact that most of you don't even know. Eating healthy is expensive indeed. You should all plant your own orange trees if you want healthy orange juice. Of course that would crash a huge juice industry wouldn't it? Very few of you know how to eat healthy because few of you understand the chemistry involved in preserving the food you eat. If you did you would stop eating most processed food altogether. This is not just a unique thing to Orange juice either. Do not try and bend the spoon. That is impossible. Only try and realize the truth-there is no spoon. Perhaps a better contingency to avoid the extinction of oranges (does this disease affect oranges worldwide? would be to store the seeds of healthy oranges in a controlled sealed environment. Yes store the seeds and take it a step further. And that is destroy all the orange trees and the disease will will die with them. Wait some years and test the environment to make sure the disease is gone and then plant the seeds. But this is so obvious that it must not be a viable solution otherwise they would do it. The reason it's not viable is because the Floridian Californian and Sicilian economies would collapse overnight. Save the bananas too else we may have a Minion revolt! Lolas Francis responded I'm surprised that any body can profit $4097 in one month on the internet. did you look at this website...www. Yad7. comdd D

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