### NucNews - December 18, 2000

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Engineered Plants
New York Times
December 18, 2000
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/18/opinion/L18GEN.html
To the Editor:
Re "First Complete Plant Genetic Sequence Is Determined" (Business Day, Dec. 14):
The recent sequencing of the entire genetic code of Arabidopsis, a common laboratory plant, is clearly a milestone in genetic engineering, one that will reduce the cost and increase the speed of commercial applications. But how will this new knowledge and expertise be used?
A clue comes from a leading biotech company you report as having "already identified 100 genes in Arabidopsis that could be used to design new herbicides." It seems we can expect a mere extension of the prevailing agricultural paradigm of chemical dependence, rather than the reduced reliance on pesticides that proponents of transgenic plants claim.
BRIAN HALWEIL Washington, Dec. 15, 2000
The writer is a staff researcher at Worldwatch Institute.