On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 496

varieties of wheat and cattle, citrus fruits
and chillis, many of which had never
before existed in nature. Today, genetic
engineers are exploring the hidden
potentialforimprovingagivenfoodplant
or animal not just within that species, but
among all species, in the entire living
world’s cornucopia of DNA and its
possiblemodifications.
Genetic engineering holds the promise
of bringing great improvements to the
production and quality of our foods.
However, like any powerful new
technology, it also has the potential to
cause unintended and far-reaching
consequences. And as the instrument of
industrial agriculture, it’s likely to
contribute to the ongoing erosion of
traditional,decentralized,small-scalefood
production and its ancient heritage of
biological and cultural diversity. It’s
importantthattheseenvironmental,social,


and economic issues be considered by all
concerned — by the biotechnology and
agriculture industries, the governments
that regulate them, the farmers who plant
and raise their products, the cooks and
manufacturers who turn the products into
something edible, and the consumers who

support the whole system by buying and
eating food — so that in the long run this
newagriculturalrevolutionwillbenefitthe
commongoodasmuchaspossible.
VitaminsA,C,andEarealsoantioxidants
(seebelow).
Phytochemicals

Thefirsteditionofthisbookreflectedthe
prevailingnutritionalwisdomcirca1980:we
shouldeatenoughfruitsandvegetablesto
avoidvitaminandmineraldeficiencies,andto
keepourdigestivesystemmoving.Period.
Whatadifference20yearsmakes!