Slightly Wine Related:
Quite an interesting article in today's NYTimes on using GMO-yeasts to develop "natural" exotic scents:
NYTimes:GMO Yeasts for Scents
The article raises some interesting questions. Since the GMO is done only to the yeasts, the alcohol and the resulting scents will have no GMO products in them and, perhaps, can be regarded as "natural". It also questions the ethics of such a process in that these "natural" scents from GMO yeasts could, possibly, put many poor farmers of vanilla beans in Madagascar or saffron in Spain out of their jobs. Which is also part of a much larger ethics of technology being used to put humans out of jobs, as in mechanized looms back in the 1800's, or robotic looms replacing man-operated looms in Pakistan, or auto-assembly in Detroit.
Obviously, this new technology has potential applications in the wine biz. What if they could develop a GMO yeast that would result in a Parker 100-pt wine. Boggles the mind. And I wonder if sweet Alice would accept this technology?? I think we know the answer to that one!!
Anyway, an interesting article worth reading...maybe.
Tom