Agriculture Technology

Uproar from environmentalists prompted the Joseph Co. of California with BOC in Britain to develop a self-chilling beverage can using carbon dioxide instead of the ozone-harming gas previously contemplated. The beverage was automatically chilled in two minutes when a button on the can was pressed. The National Food Research Institute of Japan developed a method of eradicating pests from farm produce by using low-energy electron beams, eliminating the need for fumigants. A machine that sterilized meat without cooking it and which could be integrated into food-processing lines was developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Research Service in Pennsylvania. It applied a vacuum to meat or poultry cuts followed by a burst of steam and then cooling. BTTG Biotechnology of the U.K. invented a DNA test method for identifying all types of meat and fish (whether raw, canned, or processed) contained in food products, even when present in very tiny amounts.

Textile Industry

The textile industry in 1996 was coming out of a depressed market. Individual companies were entering into joint ventures in various countries to gain better market positions. Egypt's cotton and textile industry, for example, was initiating joint ventures with companies such as Benetton and Wrangler. Japanese firms were starting to produce acrylic, nylon, and polyester fibres and yarns and to do dyeing and printing operations in China. The textile chemicals business was also experiencing this shift in focus. Amoco was developing joint ventures in various countries. Biotechnology continued to exert its influence on the textile industry. Monsanto, Du Pont, and Bayer were among the companies working on genetically altered cotton, with improved fibre performance and properties as well as resistance to pesticides and disease.

Genetically Engineered Foods

The Flavr Savr tomato became the first whole food produced by genetic engineering to reach the marketplace. “Calgene Inc.”, bred the tomato with a new version of a gene that affects the ripening process in tomatoes. The introduction of this gene allowed the Flavr Savr to remain firm longer than traditional tomatoes, increasing the time it could stay on the vine and ripen, thus allowing it to achieve better flavour than other commercially produced tomatoes. It was marketed amid heightened consumer concern over labeling and the safety of genetically engineered foods.

Biotechnology critics had sparked the controversy when the first milk produced with the aid of genetic engineering was marketed earlier in the year. Although that process had been approved by the relevant health agencies, critics said that as-yet-unknown risks could develop – if not in milk, then in other products slated for the market in coming years – and consumers would not be able to avoid them. Biotechnology proponents said such concerns stemmed from a misunderstanding of the science involved in genetic engineering. Half of all consumers surveyed said they would avoid genetically engineered products, but such resistance would lessen if the technology resulted in consistently lower food prices.

Exercise 12. Read and translate the following scientific article.