Monday, 17 February 2014

Weird

From a BBC article about blight-resistant GM potatoes...:

There was also a difference in yield, with the GM variety producing double the amount of tubers.

The scientists say that since the potatoes are grown from tubers rather than seeds, they are sterile and the issue of GM pollen escaping into the wild does not arise.

One area the scientists cannot comment on is the taste, as they were barred from eating the GM variety. However, they do not believe there is any mechanism by which the new genes can impact the flavour.


Who on earth barred them from having a nibble; why; and how did they enforce it? There's no reason to assume they'd be terribly poisonous or anything, is there?

2 comments:

Derek said...

And in any case what is the point of growing potatoes which no one is allowed to eat?

Bayard said...

If they had eaten them, they probably would have been sued under some obscure patent legislation. Judging by the food most supermarkets like to stock, the reason for the ban is probably because they taste of nothing, or, indeed, taste horrid.