Celery and Potatoes
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Most plants have evolved to contain chemical defenses
against diseases or insect pests. This has been a natural response of exposure
to such threats over millions of years in which they had no ability to flee
when attacked. Though not frequent, such plant defenses have been known to create authentic health problems in plant varieties created through the sort of radiation
mutagenesis that Greenpeace has falsely claimed is safer than modern plant breeding.
The Lenape potato was developed by researchers from Pennsylvania State University,
USDA's Agricultural Research Service, and a company interested in an improved
potato chip variety. Unfortunately, in addition to being a better potato for
making chips, the Lenape had significantly elevated levels of solanine, an
alkaloid found in all potatoes. Solanine protects potato plants against diseases
like potato blight, and some insect pests. The amount present is greatest in
younger plants, and generally declines with age. The amount in the Lenape
variety, however, is consistently high in young and old plants, and is high
enough in the tubers to make them unsafe to eat, so the potato was removed from
the market. The same problem, with a different potato variety, was subsequently observed in Sweden as well.
Unlike conventionally bred potatoes, elevated solanine
levels would have been detected before any biotech improved potato would have
reached the market. It is worth noting,
however, that modern molecular breeding methods would have made it easy to
eliminate the elevated solanine levels found in the Lenape
Celery contains a class of plant defense chemicals known as
psoralens. In most celery varieties grown for human consumption the levels are
low and create no problems. But high psoralens levels can occur in celery
(overproduction is stimulated by insect pest damage). Farm workers harvesting
celery, and even some produce workers in grocery stores, sometimes get
psoralens on their skin, rendering them unusually susceptible to ultraviolet
radiation. This has been observed to result in inflammation and unpleasant symptoms typical of acute
sunburn.
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