Rabies Vaccine to Be Grown in Peanuts

How long is a "normal" carrot? If you go to any grocery store, you will see bags containing carrots that can be a foot long or more. We buy them, thinking we are buying carrots, and we eat them, thinking we are eating carrots. No. We are not consuming carrots; we are consuming "carrots". There is a difference. Have you ever compared an organically-grown carrot with a commercially-grown one? Or, for those readers who have traveled to Africa or nonindustrial countries, how did their carrots taste? Did you experience a problem with the food when you returned to the States?

It is bad enough that the food in this country is laced with pesticides and fertilizers and chemicals. Then there is the issue of genetically-modified foods - foods that have been produced and grown with scientifically altered genes - that are included in many products (and these products are currently unlabeled!). But wait, it gets worse. Now scientists are promoting that genetically-modified foods can replace vaccinations for diseases like rabies and cholera.

Tuskegee University's Center for Plant Biotechnology Research is currently working on a project which would include a rabies vaccine in peanuts, and Tuskegee is also working on including a cholera vaccine in bananas. Dr. Channapatna Prakash, director of the center, visited South Africa in early February to discuss his project at an inaugural meeting of AfricaBio, a local biotechnology organization.

Prakash claims that this technology could be circulated in developing countries more cost-effectively than the rabies injection. He also claims that by adding additional nutrients to staple foods, such as rice, diseases caused by inadequate nutrition could be prevented in "poverty-stricken" countries.

I remember an episode of the Jetson's cartoon portraying how food will look in the future. Instead of being served a plate with food - vegetables, rice, bread, pasta, etc - the Jetson's were served a plate of pills. One pill was the "nutrients" of a steak, one pill was the "nutrients" of vegetables, one pill was the "nutrients" of bread, and so on. The Jetson's swallowed the pills and went on with their day. Is this scenario really that far from where we are today? We take vitamin supplements, mineral supplements, energy supplements, and herbal capsules for almost every condition. Livestock is being treated with growth hormones and agricultural plants are being genetically altered. And now, a vaccine for rabies may be just a peanut away! In the world of today, a carrot is no longer a carrot.
As the concern rises about bio-technology and the genetic modification of plants and animals (and humans!), one must ask oneself who is profiting from this unnatural endeavor. Is it the consumer, who unknowingly consumes modified foods on a daily basis, blindly progressing to possible health disasters in the future due to this "technology"? Is it the farmer, who produces "carrots" and other "agriculture"? Or is it the giant companies who sell the seeds and the products, and soon the vaccines, from which the genetically modified substances are made? What about the scientists who are creating a name for themselves while ignoring their responsibility to humanity? Who is the victim? Surely it is not the consumer of these "improved foods", whose health is at risk. Of course it is not the farmer, who must buy seeds every year because the ones from his crops are infertile. Nevermind the soil, and the water, and the ecosystem, which is bombarded by alien organisms which will affect the entire planet.

No, nevermind these risks, for soon we may have "peanuts" that prevent rabies, and "bananas" that prevent cholera. The question arises of how these "peanuts" will be distributed. Will they be eaten like pills, taken only when perscribed, or will they be eaten as food, consumed on a regular basis? It is known that bacteria, viruses and organisms develop defenses to antibiotics, penicillin, and other drugs. We must consider the effects this technology may have on not only the virus and its ability to develop resistance, but on the organisms (humans, animals, insects,) which may consume the "peanut" vaccine or the plant on which it grows.

South Africa is reportedly considered a "test case" for Prakash, who insists that medical costs would be reduced and the productivity of farmers would be expanded with the use of biotechnology. As the African proverb says, "A hill that doesn't want to be trodden on must not grow edible mushrooms".