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First Fruit: The Creation of the Flavr Savr Tomato and the Birth of Biotech Foods, by Belinda Martineau
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In 1994 a little biotech firm called Calgene introduced the Flavr Savr (TM) tomato, the first genetically engineered food ever brought to market. Like most scientists working in agricultural biotechnology, the people who created the Flavr Savr (TM) hoped eventually to develop more important crops, ones that would be higher yielding or insect and disease resistant, thus enabling farmers to feed more people and reduce their dependence on dangerous chemicals. But the people at Calgene knew that before genetic engieering could reform high-tech agriculture, it would first have to achieve acceptance by the public. So they started with the Flavr Savr (TM), a tomato whose rot-initiating gene was turned off. The idea was that the modified fruits would retain enough firmness so they could be left on the vine until they began to ripen. "Normal" tomatoes are picked green and then gassed red before making their appearance in the supermarket; otherwise they'd be smashed during shipping. At the time the Flavr Savr (TM) was being developed, American consumers were spending $4 billion on supermarket tomatoes, despite the fact that almost no one beieved they tasted like a tomato should. The strategy was to win American consumers' tomato-loving hearts with the "summertime taste" of the Flavr Savr (TM), and the rest would follow. Belinda Martineau served on the scientific team that developed the Flavr Savr (TM), and when Calgene voluntarily submitted its product for FDA and USDA approval, Martineau provided most of the scientific evidence that led to it certification as safe for human consumption. Martineau concurred with Calgene's belief that the approval process would inform the public of the pros and cons of genetically modified foods. Yet ultimately the process of engineering the Flavr Savr (TM) and bringing it to market made her question the validity of the product. The Flavr Savr (TM) was generally accepted by the public, despite some fierce opposition by environmentalists and consumer advocates, yet it did not prove to be commercially viable. Though its introduction did engender discussion of the ethical, environmental and scientific issues surrounding agricultural biotechnology, the debate was squashed when ag-tech giant Monsanto bought Calgene and the process of egnieering food "went underground". While genetically modified foods must be labelled in Europe, and the controversy over their safety is headline news in the UK, American consumers are eating a significant amount of them without even being
- Sales Rank: #1585856 in Books
- Published on: 2001-03-27
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 1.08" h x 5.82" w x 8.62" l, 1.10 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 269 pages
Amazon.com Review
Engaging both sides of the agricultural biotech controversy and hoping to initiate a reasoned dialogue, geneticist Belinda Martineau explores the development and eventual failure of the Flavr Savr tomato in First Fruit. One of the Calgene scientists who worked on the tomato (the first genetically modified food on the market), she offers great insight into the scientific and business factors that drive the research and marketing of biotech products. Concerned about the eager and simplistic denial of most of her colleagues when faced with protests from consumer advocates, she wants to see more direct communication between the two sides.
Using the story of Flavr Savr's development, Martineau shows the reader both the quality of biotech research and the power of management to obfuscate or otherwise affect that work. Though straying into dead-end stories of her colleagues' interactions a little too often, for the most part the narrative flows smoothly and draws the reader along swiftly to the tomato's eventual, inevitable demise in the market. Ironically, the Flavr Savr failed more because it couldn't live up to Calgene's nearly messianic marketing than from any protester's work, even if it did launch a few activists' careers. Telling industry to pay more heed to honesty and research while suggesting that the public pursue better scientific education shouldn't be asking too much--perhaps First Fruit will help de-escalate the debate. --Rob Lightner
From the Inside Flap
Amid the storm of controversy raging over insect-resistant corn, Roundup®-Ready soybeans, and other "Frankenfoods," few people remember the humble tomato that gave birth to the brave new world of biotech food. First Fruit is the fascinating inside story of the rise and fall of the Flavr SavrTM tomato, the first genetically engineered whole food ever brought to market.
Created by Calgene, a small California-based biotech start-up, the Flavr Savr went on sale in Spring 1994, just three days after receiving approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Despite its premium price and mixed reviews from environmentalists and tomato tasters, the world first biotech food, proudly labeled as such, sold like hot cakes. But amid that high demand, Calgene's ability to supply MacGregor's® tomatoes, grown from Flavr Savr seeds, was extremely limited. Instead of taking a generous bite out of the $4 billion U.S. retail market for fresh tomatoes, Calgene suffered negative gross margins in its tomato business that led to losses to the tune of tens of millions of dollars a year. The Flavr Savr gene was, in the end, of only marginal value to a fresh market tomato business. Less than two years after its national rollout, the Flavr Savr tomato forever disappeared from the shelves.
In a fast-paced narrative full of colorful characters, surprising twists and turns, and more than a few eye-opening revelations, former Calgene scientist Belinda Martineau chronicles the making of the Flavr Savr, from its conception to its ignominious disappearance. In the process she explains how genes are added to or, as in the case of the Flavr Savr, effectively switched off in plants through genetic engineering. She describes the experiments that not only convinced FDA regulators that the Flavr Savr tomato was "as safe as tomatoes bred by conventional means" but also paved the regulatory road for all the biotech foods that have followed. First Fruit also offers a revealing glimpse into how corporate decisions like whether to label genetically engineered products and how to "position" a "slow-to-rot" tomato as a vine-ripened, farm-stand-fresh consumer's dream are made in ag biotech start-ups.
During her seven years as a member of the team that developed the tomato and secured its regulatory approval, Martineau underwent a transformation from devout believer in the promise of biotechnology to battle-weary skeptic. As a consequence, her story contains a degree of depth and candor unusual at a time when most of what is written about genetically engineered foods is steeped in the rhetoric of those on one side or the other of the impassioned debate over agricultural biotechnology. First Fruit is a frank assessment of this revolutionary new technology, its benefits as well as its risks, and the multibillion dollar industry it engendered. Raising as many provocative questions as it answers, it serves as a cautionary tale for the dawning Biotech Age.
"Martineau's book provides direction for the future as well as a guide to the past."
Rebecca Goldberg
Senior Scientist
Environmental Defense
"A remarkably insightful journey behind industry's closed doors on one side, and the public world of regulatory affairs on the other. [Dr. Martineau] captures the excitement of those providing the scientific foundation for agricultural biotechnology and explains the expanding array of science needed to address the complex regulatory hurdles that color perceptions of farmers, consumers and advocacy groups."
Joel Cohen
Principal Research Officer, Biotechnology
International Service for National Agricultural Research
The Hague, The Netherlands
From the Back Cover
Amid the storm of controversy raging over insect-resistant corn, Roundup®-Ready soybeans, and other "Frankenfoods," few people remember the humble tomato that gave birth to the brave new world of biotech food. First Fruit is the fascinating inside story of the rise and fall of the Flavr SavrTM tomato, the first genetically engineered whole food ever brought to market. Created by Calgene, a small California-based biotech start-up, the Flavr Savr went on sale in Spring 1994, just three days after receiving approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Despite its premium price and mixed reviews from environmentalists and tomato tasters, the world first biotech food, proudly labeled as such, sold like hot cakes. But amid that high demand, Calgene's ability to supply MacGregor's® tomatoes, grown from Flavr Savr seeds, was extremely limited. Instead of taking a generous bite out of the $4 billion U.S. retail market for fresh tomatoes, Calgene suffered negative gross margins in its tomato business that led to losses to the tune of tens of millions of dollars a year. The Flavr Savr gene was, in the end, of only marginal value to a fresh market tomato business. Less than two years after its national rollout, the Flavr Savr tomato forever disappeared from the shelves.
In a fast-paced narrative full of colorful characters, surprising twists and turns, and more than a few eye-opening revelations, former Calgene scientist Belinda Martineau chronicles the making of the Flavr Savr, from its conception to its ignominious disappearance. In the process she explains how genes are added to or, as in the case of the Flavr Savr, effectively switched off in plants through genetic engineering. She describes the experiments that not only convinced FDA regulators that the Flavr Savr tomato was "as safe as tomatoes bred by conventional means" but also paved the regulatory road for all the biotech foods that have followed. First Fruit also offers a revealing glimpse into how corporate decisions like whether to label genetically engineered products and how to "position" a "slow-to-rot" tomato as a vine-ripened, farm-stand-fresh consumer's dream are made in ag biotech start-ups.
During her seven years as a member of the team that developed the tomato and secured its regulatory approval, Martineau underwent a transformation from devout believer in the promise of biotechnology to battle-weary skeptic. As a consequence, her story contains a degree of depth and candor unusual at a time when most of what is written about genetically engineered foods is steeped in the rhetoric of those on one side or the other of the impassioned debate over agricultural biotechnology. First Fruit is a frank assessment of this revolutionary new technology, its benefits as well as its risks, and the multibillion dollar industry it engendered. Raising as many provocative questions as it answers, it serves as a cautionary tale for the dawning Biotech Age.
"Martineau's book provides direction for the future as well as a guide to the past."
Rebecca Goldberg
Senior Scientist
Environmental Defense
"A remarkably insightful journey behind industry's closed doors on one side, and the public world of regulatory affairs on the other. [Dr. Martineau] captures the excitement of those providing the scientific foundation for agricultural biotechnology and explains the expanding array of science needed to address the complex regulatory hurdles that color perceptions of farmers, consumers and advocacy groups."
Joel Cohen
Principal Research Officer, Biotechnology
International Service for National Agricultural Research
The Hague, The Netherlands
Most helpful customer reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful.
Direction for Sound Decision-making about Biotech Food
By Angie Mc
As the mother of three young children, I found First Fruit accessible, reassuring and empowering. I'm concerned about the food that my family eats. Is it healthy, pure and wholesome? How do I make good decisions about food for my family? Enter First Fruit. It reads like a novel, fast-paced and enthralling. In the midst of this most important and well-written story, Belinda Martineau delivers information that helps me to break out of my confusion, fears and ignorance about biotech food. She thoroughly and respectfully covers the science and history of this monumental venture. She humanizes it by bringing the players involved to life - warts and all. As the book draws to its conclusion, after many hilarious, infuriating, egomaniac, frustrating, cruel, brilliant, and optimistic moments told, my concerns for my family come full circle. What is healthy, pure and wholesome for our world? How do we, or should we, as industries, governments, academics, NGO's and the general public make good decisions about food for our world? With a fabulous birth metaphor and without an alarmist tone, Belinda Martineau points us all in the right direction.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful.
Highly readable account of thought provoking subject matter
By A Customer
First Fruit presents the story of Calgene's development of the Flavr Savr tomato, the world's first bioengineered food. The book provides interesting insights on many aspects of the project. Calgene and its investors poured more than $200 million into what turned out to be a flawed hypothesis - that Calgene's scientists could produce a firm, great tasting tomato capable of withstanding the rigors of transportation from the fields to supermarkets at a commercially viable price. First Fruit is very well written and conveys its subject matter in a reader-friendly conversational style that those of us without Ph.D.'s can understand.
The book recounts the emotional roller coaster ride inside Calgene as project scientists encountered a seemingly endless string of scientific, regulatory, and legal obstacles. The strain brought out admirable qualities in some people and questionable conduct in others. One highlight is Dr. Martineau's description of her own "inquisition," where she unsuspectingly walked into what had been billed as a staff meeting only to be confronted by seven "true believers" who proceeded to berate her for what they perceived to be her lack of loyalty to the cause. Then there is the story of the arrival of the first truckload of Flavr Savr tomatoes. Numerous Calgene officers and directors traveled to Chicago, hoping to see proof that their miracle fruit had solved the transportation problems that had plagued the industry. Instead, they were greeted by the spectacle of tomato puree leaking from the truck. Not one tomato had survived the trip. One employee repeatedly intoned, presciently, "It's over, it's all over."
First Fruit concludes with a thought provoking discussion of Flavr Savr's impact on the Food and Drug Administration's scrutiny of genetically engineered plant applications. Dr. Martineau relates how the relatively minor genetic engineering involved, together with the apparent absence of any negative side effects, may have lulled the FDA into a false sense of security. Given recent news accounts, such as those of the widespread contamination of numerous corn products with StarLink genetically engineered corn not approved for human consumption, this discussion may be the most important in the book.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful.
Insider's view: How The First Biotech Tomato Flopped
By Martin Tuttle
First Fruit provides an interesting, quick read of a Califonia company's effort to develop and sell the Flavr Savr tomato - the first gentically engineered, but not the last, whole food. Written by a Flavr Savr researcher, the book highlights the internal clash between business executives seeking immediate financial returns and scientists charged with coming up with a high-tech tomato that genetic science had not yet produced for general salad consumption. The book's middle-third is a little too technical if you never managed better than a C+ in chemisty or biology, but the insider's view of the struggle to get the new tomato to market and her responsible conclusions make this book a must read for anyone interested in the emerging global role of biotechnology.
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