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Dear List,
Allow me to address a previous post to the list.

Quote:
"We could encourage grain development leading to a "grain" without
protein fractions that trigger adverse immune responses. We could
encourage research that would lead to "turning off" the celiac genetic
marker of DNA."

Somehow, I don't think we can pick and choose our agenda on this
subject. We don't understand enough about the functions of gluten in
wheat as it pertains to the rest of the natural world-not just celiac
disease. Gluten intolerance may be the result of natural selection.
Couldn't we just change our diet instead of changing the law of nature?

Quote:
"Most farmers, love the land, are well educated stewards of the land,
proud of providing us with the most sanitary, high quality and abundant
food supply in the world. Remember, less than 3% of Americans are
farmers. A smaller percent of the American family income goes to buy
food than anywhere else in the world. We can work with the farmer and
their commodity groups so they are aware of our special needs and
concerns. Our challenge is to continue to increase the breadth of
positive alliances throughout the food industry. "

Unfortunately, this supports the romantic idea of the "farmer".  Many
farms today are owned or subsidised by large agro-corporations.  Many
small "family" farms are against genetically altered foods.  For
instance, a long-standing tradition of farming is to "trade seed".
GMO's (genetically engineered plants) are patented products.  "Trading
seeds" is akin to "bootlegging".  To stop this spread of free seeds
amongst the farming community, Terminator Technology (a proprietary
term, not mine) has been developed and approved.  What this means is
that soybeans, rape seeds, or anything that has been "patented",
produces sterile seeds.  In perennial crops, plants die after the
harvest. This has a negative affect on poor and developing countries,
where the MAJORITY of their annual income is spent on food. Farmers may
be forced to buy seeds from these large American companies that own the
patents to the plants they grow.  Traditionally, farmers  use a portion
of the beans/seeds of their crop for next years' planting.

We don't know enough about this technology.  It may serve the Celiac
Community, it may not.  The bottom line will probably be determined by
profitability, not the good of a group, or all of mankind.

Thank you for your time

Gwynneth in Boston