History and Introduction to the gene insertion

Hello Science Geeks,

Today I'm basing my first blog on the history of Flavr Savr. I'm going to be talking about the bio-technological company-Calgene, the inventors of this tomato as well as giving you a peek into the gene insertion of the tomato.

Calgene and Flavr Savr

Calgene was a Californian biotechnological company. It was one of its first introduction of genetically modified food into the growing industrial/biotechnological world back in 1990's. Calgene later got taken over by The Monsanto Company due to the unprofitable accomplishments. We all know who Monsanto is today...don't we?

Genetically modified Tomatoes known Flavr Savr was introduced in 1992 by Calgene, but was approved by the U.S- FDA (Food and Drug Administration) in 1994 (18th May). The making process of the Tomato took approximately 10 years.It appeared to the consumers soon after the approval by FDA.

However, the FDA thought that it was unnecessary to put a GM label on the product. (stupid move) "The FDA reasoned that as there was no obvious health risk and the nutritional content and characteristics were the same as conventional tomatoes, there was no need to identify this tomato as different from the non-modified ones."

In addition, Flavr Savr was tested on rats, and found out that the rats grew abnormal tissues in their stomach causing them to die.

(Tomoa feels bad for the poor Rats)

I think that this was a bad move by the FDA by thinking that it was unnecessary, because back in the 1990's, genetic engineering was still in the process of evolving. SO why would they not want to maybe further clarify and test the side affects of Flavr Savr? Plus, I don't think that the public back then would think this was a normal thing to do since it's not like any farmer or the economy was suffering due to less production of tomatoes.

Calgene said that the genetically modified tomatoes ripening process would become slower, not "soften" easily in the inner tomato, as well as remain "long-lasting" . Farmers spray ethylene gas on the normal tomatoes to help it remain long-lasting on the shelves, so Flavr Savr does not need any spraying.

Brief Introduction to gene insertion in Flavr Savr

In a brief view,the insertion of genetically modified was done by adding an enzyme called oligonucleotide. Oligonucleotide would counteract against the original enzyme(polygalacturonase) in the tomato. This means that by adding oligonucleotide, it's going to interrupt a the original enzymes function.

( I'll explain more about the process in another blog post)

In contrast, the tomatoes were not much of a success. It had its disadvantages (which I'll explain more in the issues blog)

Going back to Calgene,

Fall of Calegene

Gradually, after 3 years of the production of the tomatoes, Calgene began to notice a trend in their comapanys economy. Instead of making profit, they seemed to be going in a loss. That gradually caused the company to shut down as well as the removal of Flav Savr from the consumer market. Soon after, the companys shares was bought by the Monsanto Company in 1997, and was discontinued from the consumer market(LOSS LOSS LOSS)which is now the leading biotechnology agricultural company. (as well as the most hated company)

Misinformation regarding Flavr Savr

A misinformation about Flavr Savr was that it caused health issues such as stomach pains in humans. However, this is not true. That is because the product itself was never tested on humans, and the product didn't remain on the market much longer for it to cause it.

Okay Science Geeks,

I'll take your leave...

Goodnight for now,

I NEED TO SLEEP

The EnviroGirl

p.s: How's my blogs main picture geeks? I edited it myself, since I wanted my blog to look appealing and not boring. Ofcourse, the credits goes to my brother who came up with the idea.

AND, I need to choose a ROLE for this project.