Coffee Genome Mapped by Brazilian Researchers

Surfing the web today, I came across an interesting bit of news from Brazil. Last April, Brazilian authorities announced that researchers in their country have decoded Arabica coffee's genetic structure with a view toward making it more resistant to insects and disease and raising productivity levels by 50 to 100 per cent. The two million dollar project was conducted in Sao Paulo and led to the identification of thousands of genes making up a total of 11 chromosomes.

The issue of genetic manipulation is a hot topic in many parts of the world, particularly is Europe, where many people feel that consuming genetically altered foods is a risky undertaking. In many learned circles, the issue becomes how to control the growing dominance of genetically enhanced plants in our environment and how to prevent them from irrevocably altering the world we live in. At a more fundamental level, the issue is whether one can (or should) have a license or patent on a life-form and what are the implications of that. The day could come when companies could conceivably control what type of genetic traits one's offspring possess.

Getting back to the issue of coffee, the implications for Third World farmers is also questionable. If growing a superior coffee plant rests with large companies, how will that affect the already uncertain status of the small farmer eking out a precarious living on his small plot of land? Is it not likely that paying more for premium, genetically superior seeds would force the small-scale farmer even further out of the picture, making the coffee-growing process dominated even more by large corporations?