Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor:

I'm a Ph.D. student in conservation biology at the U of M. I'm writing to correct an error that was in the February/March newsletter.

On page 3, under the headline "Weeds Becoming Resistent to Herbicide," a New York Times article clip described the development of resistance to Roundup(TM) in weeds. In the editor's note that followed, the (Wedge newsletter) Editor wrote, "...the soybeans are passing on their resistance to the weeds that grow around them. ..."

This is incorrect and actually impossible. Roundup-ready soybeans are, as many Wedge customers know, genetically altered to provide them resistance to this herbicide. The only way they could "pass on" their resistance to the weeds that grow around them is if they were to mate with weeds and produce viable offspring. Since this doesn't happen, the soybeans cannot and are not "passing on" the Roundup resistance gene or genes to the weeds around them.

Rather, what's happening is that not even Roundup kills every weed to which it's applied. A very few weeds may survive, for whatever reason. It's NOT because they can get anything from the soybeans - it's luck of the draw of genes at this stage. The weeds that survive have a huge, empty niche they can fill with their seeds, and next year, the cycle is repeated again. This is called directional selection, and it's very strong in this case, ironically because Roundup is so effective at killing just about anything green (the catch is "just about"). Because Roundup is so effective, the weeds that survive to produce seeds for the next year have been through a selectional wringer - they have some gene or genes that let them survive, and they pass their genes to their offspring in their seeds. This strong directional selection has happened already in bacteria, with the evolution of resistance to antibiotics, and most recently in Bt corn, where, in some areas, European corn borer larvae have developed resistance to the toxin produced by the Bt gene inserted in the corn genome. Strong directional selection is really the process we should be most concerned about with GMOs. We are, in effect, speeding up evolution, with often unintended or unanticipated results.

Anne-Marie Hoskinson
Ph.D. Candidate, Conservation Biology Graduate Program
University of Minnesota

Editor's note: Thanks to Anne-Marie for the correction. In an effort to avoid similar mistakes in the future, Anne-Marie has agreed to be the first member of the Wedge Newsletter Expert Resources Panel!

Response to "Ms. Manners" Inquiry:

Dear Wedge,

Thank you for printing the article on holiday gift food that appeared in the last issue of your newsletter. It inspires me to tell you about my own holiday food story.

I wish to confess - most of my holiday gift shopping is done at the Wedge! Many years ago, my mother-in-law had a health crisis and suddenly had to go on a very strict diet, which of course excluded the candies and treats my husband and I usually gave her at Christmas. A light bulb went off in my head - we could make up a special basket of organic fruit! I found a basket, and went off to the store to find my treasure. Apples, bananas, kiwi, and the exotic fruits that are so accessible here today weren't so easily found in rural America at the time, and my gift was a big hit because I gave my in-laws several things they had only seen on television.

I also made up a basket for my great aunt, and helped her with the first mango, so she knew how to handle it. "That's quite an experience!" she said, and suggested that I could bring more mangoes the next time I came. This event was memorable, because normally my aunt would consider it quite rude to ask anyone to bring her a gift, and had never asked me to bring anything, ever. My aunt has a small farm, and usually I am on the receiving end of this type of transaction, being allowed to pick any fresh vegetable or wild berry on the grounds. Of course on the next visit, more mangoes were purchased for my aunt, and a fruit basket became the annual gift to the in-laws at Christmas.

Eventually I branched out, making low-salt soups and freezing them in containers; making spice sets in little jars; or buying hard-to-find things, exotic pastas, teas, etc., and putting them in a basket. For me, it's a chance to spend the holidays with my general life philosophy intact because I reuse jars and baskets, and through my purchases I support small family farmers like my great aunt.

The first time a food gift is given to someone, an explanation is included that I prefer shopping for food more than anything else. How do people respond? They love it! Everyone values delicious food, but most folks won't "go all the way" in terms of routinely buying organics or high-quality conventional foods for themselves. A food gift suits everyone - urban friends and family who are too busy to cook; small town connections, who can't find these things in the stores; the old, the sick, and everyone else.

The holiday season is over, but perhaps there is some interest in putting this story in the Wedge newsletter anyway. Today, so many people are facing financial problems or illness, or are just working so hard they're too tired to cook. A food basket makes a wonderful gift for these people.

I've also bought non-perishable food items at the Wedge and donated them to the Joyce food shelf, giving the recipient a card to acknowledge the gift. One can donate right at the store, which makes it easy.

-Val Escher (a shopper of the Wedge for 18 years)

And from A. J. Chinn:

I suggest to Ms. Manners that she say they turned out great, as she could use the ingredients to make holiday ornaments if they were sugar cookie dough?