First Fruit: The Creation of the Flavr Savr Tomato and the Birth of Biotech Foods

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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

Book Description

In 1994 a little California biotech startup called Calgene introduced the Flavr SavrTMtomato, the first genetically engineered whole food ever brought to market, and laid the groundwork for the entire agricultural biotechnology industry.

In a fast-paced narrative full of colorful characters, surprising twists and turns, and several eye-opening revelations, Belinda Martineau chronicles the story behind the making of the Flavr SavrTM, from its conception, through its much-heralded introduction to market, and its ignominious disappearance. As a member of the Calgene team that developed the Flavr SavrTM and secured its regulatory approval, Martineau underwent a transformation from an enthusiastic believer in biotechnology's promise to a battle-weary skeptic. Her account serves as a cautionary tale for the biotech age, offering a revealing look at how the science of genetic engineering is actually done, how corporate decisions are really made in biotech startups, and how the regulatory system in the U.S. does and doesn't work.

Most importantly, First Fruit goes beyond the polarized debate currently surrounding genetically modified foods to illustrate both the benefits and the risks of this new technology.

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Customer Reviews:

Managerial strategies and research projects in action.......2002-01-11

This book have some very interesting perspectives:

1) The book is an insiders view on the development of the biotechnologies presented in a non-glamourous style

2) The book is a witness that standard strategic thinking has it limits when it come to explain the nature of biotechnology development. Also the book's description of how the development of the Flavr Savr tomato was approved and how this became a FDA standard is very interesting reading to people who think of public regulatory work as totally independent of corporate interests.

The book is much more intense than Kidder's book: The Soul of the New Machine and that says something of the quality of Martineau's book.

Direction for Sound Decision-making about Biotech Food.......2001-09-16

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.

Highly readable account of thought provoking subject matter.......2001-09-05

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.

Insider's view: How The First Biotech Tomato Flopped.......2001-08-10

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.

First Fruit: The Creation of the Flavr Savr Tomato and the Birth of Biotech Food

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Intriguing Story of the Flavr Savr Tomato

First Fruit: The Creation of the Flavr Savr Tomato and the Birth of Biotech Food
Belinda Martineau
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Companies
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Lords of the Harvest: Biotech, Big Money, and the Future of Food

ASIN: 0071400273

Book Description

"A must read for those interested in understanding the history and future of biotech food."W. R. Morgan, Choice magazine

In a fast-paced narrative featuring colorful characters, surprising twists and turns, and several eye-opening revelations, Belinda Martineau chronicles the story behind the making of the Flavr SavrTM tomato, from its conception, through its much-heralded introduction to market and its subsequent ignominious disappearance. Her account serves as a cautionary tale for the biotech age, offering a revealing look at how the science of genetic engineering is actually done, how corporate decisions are really made in biotech start-ups, and how the regulatory system in the United States does and doesn't work.

Most important, First Fruit goes beyond the polarized debate currently surrounding genetically modified foods to illustrate both the benefits and the risks of this new technology.

Customer Reviews:

Intriguing Story of the Flavr Savr Tomato.......2002-07-30

First Fruit provides a history of the first biotech plant product. I found this book to be fascinating. Belinda Martineau has written a very accessible book that has something to offer every reader. The scientific background allows the non-scientist to be able to understand not only what made the Flavr Savr tomato, but all the different regulatory issues involved to show that the product was safe. As such, it reveals how much of the anti-biotech sentiment is based on ignorance of scientific facts rather than on demonstratable dangers. Indeed, as was the case of Calgene, any company worth its pipette tips (and knowing the highly litigious society in which we live) would not want to release a hazardous product, but would want to do all the safety studies.
The interactions and conflicts between the scientists and business side of the company reveal important lessons for any biotech company. These problems underscore the importance even more for getting the 2 sides to interact from the beginning in a meaningful way. The hype that was generated before a product was produced foreshadowed the dotcom bubble, but an important difference in biotech (and especially plant biotech) is that product development (often 7-10 years) usually takes much longer than a high-tech product. This book is must reading for anyone who is interested in the current debate about genetic modification of foods. It is also valuable reading for anyone who is interested in biotech industry (especially if one is interested in investing in this industry).

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First Fruit: The Creation of the Flavr Savr Tomato and the Birth of Biotech Food
Belinda Martineau
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Companies
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OFXMLA

First Fruit: The Creation of the Flavr Savr Tomato and the Birth of Biotech Foods

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First Fruit: The Creation of the Flavr Savr Tomato and the Birth of Biotech Foods
Belinda Martineau
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Companies
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OGCNOQ

Book Description

All the creative art psychotherapies (art, dance, music, drama, poetry) can trace their roots to C. G. Jung's early work on active imagination. Joan Chodorow here offers a collection of Jung's writings on active imagination, gathered together for the first time. Jung developed this concept between the years 1913 and 1916, following his break with Freud. During this time, he was disoriented and experienced intense inner turmoil --he suffered from lethargy and fears, and his moods threatened to overwhelm him. Jung searched for a method to heal himself from within, and finally decided to engage with the impulses and images of his unconscious. It was through the rediscovery of the symbolic play of his childhood that Jung was able to reconnect with his creative spirit. In a 1925 seminar and again in his memoirs, he tells the remarkable story of his experiments during this time that led to his self-healing. Jung learned to develop an ongoing relationship with his lively creative spirit through the power of imagination and fantasies. He termed this therapeutic method "active imagination."

This method is based on the natural healing function of the imagination, and its many expressions. Chodorow clearly presents the texts, and sets them in the proper context. She also interweaves her discussion of Jung's writings and ideas with contributions from Jungian authors and artists.

Customer Reviews:

Active imagination is a must-read for introverts........1997-10-27

If you fit the following profile, then you owe it to yourself to read about active imagination: introvert, deep thinker, and aged in the mid 20s while not yet settling into married life. This book can be looked at as a self-help book if you possess those qualities because it will gently remind you of sources of unhappiness that you would not readily accept consciously as being a valid reason for getting depressed. The danger of ignoring these sources of conflict is that your mind will take over and cope with the use of the imagination leading to fantasies. Order springs out of chaos when you are armed with the knowledge of this book and are at a loss to explain the behavior of yourself and others.

Alchemical Active Imagination: Revised Edition (C. G. Jung Foundation Books)

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Brilliant commentary with tons of psychological insights
Where are you tonight, Sweet Marie?
Correction
a wonderful disquisition on alchemy and Jung...
Marie-Louise Von Franz offers us a use for Dorn and alchemy.

Alchemical Active Imagination: Revised Edition (C. G. Jung Foundation Books)
Marie-Louise von Franz
Manufacturer: Shambhala
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0877735891
Release Date: 1997-12-02

Book Description

Although alchemy is popularly regarded as the science that sought to transmute base physical matter, many of the medieval alchemists were more interested in developing a discipline that would lead to the psychological and spiritual transformation of the individual. C. G. Jung discovered in his study of alchemical texts a symbolic and imaginal language that expressed many of his own insights into psychological processes. In this book, Marie-Louise von Franz examines a text by the sixteenth-century alchemist and physician Gerhard Dorn in order to show the relationship of alchemy to the concepts and techniques of analytical psychology. In particular, she shows that the alchemists practiced a kind of meditation similar to Jung's technique of active imagination, which enables one to dialogue with the unconscious archetypal elements in the psyche. Originally delivered as a series of lectures at the C. G. Jung Institute in Zurich, the book opens therapeutic insights into the relations among spirit, soul, and body in the practice of active imagination.

Customer Reviews:

Brilliant commentary with tons of psychological insights.......2006-08-14

Derived from Jan/Feb 1969 lectures @ C. G. Jung Institute in Zurich, this commentary on Gerhard Dorn's 17th c. work complements Jung's "Mysterium Coniunctionis" & "Psychology & Alchemy." It's an advanced book--prior background in Jungian psychology & alchemy are helpful, but p. 21: "One book opens another. Read many books & compare them throughout & then you get the meaning," & this work helps one understand Jung's lengthier/more difficult works. Indeed, despite the erudite material, von Franz clarifies the meaning in her awesome commentary. Per her title, pp. 22-3: "Jung sometimes defined the introverted psychological tradition in alchemy as the art of active imagination with material." Further, p. 147: "Dorn floated over the abysses of the mysteries that Jung was to penetrate." [later]

Much of Dorn's work is a symbolic, alchemical journey similar to the Kabbalistic Hekalot, the Divine Comedy, the Egyptian Book of the Dead, or especially Ashcroft-Nowicki's "The Shining Path." His travelers (spiritus, anima & body) resemble the Neshamah, Ruach, & Nefesh in Kabbalah. Dorn reveals brilliant insights into psychology but fails in his attempt to reconcile Christian dogma with alchemy. pp. 12-13: "The ultimate dynamic impulse to become a physicist is based upon the desire to find out more about how God works...The really great & creative scientists have the same motivation as the alchemists: to find out more about that spiritual or divine substance...which lies behind all existence."

But, von Franz's also provides enlightening/profound/pithy asides on: dreams, flow ("a constant awareness of the Self"), evil & the shadow, animal & human rituals/games, the Unconscious creating conflict to achieve progress (implying the spiral development model), the psychological basis for divination techniques, & the relationship between individuation & synchronicity. pp. 148-9: "While we normally live in a dual world of `outer' & `inner' events, in a synchronistic event this duality no longer exists; outer events behave as if they were a part of our psyche, so that everything is contained in the same wholeness...To reach that point where outer & inner reality become one is the goal of individuation. Through it one also reaches some of what Jung calls the `absolute knowledge' in the unconscious...At the end point of development (the end stage of the individuation process) the Zen masters are in such a state of harmony with the collective unconscious that they communicate with one another subliminally, they are together in the unus mundus". [Self] This is a brilliant work, my favorite of the 5 I've read.

Where are you tonight, Sweet Marie?.......2002-09-25

This was the first serious modern work on alchemy that I've read, and boy did I luck out! It is a work charged with authenticity and vision. von Franz gives you some historical background on the origins of alchemy, then introduces this 16th century alchemist, Gerhard Dorn, and his inner and outer struggle to illuminate and heal the schism between spiritual alchemy and Western Christianity. Dorn doesn't come to any happy conclusions, but the chapter on Medieval Magic is worth the entire read. It includes a serious attempt to examine the question of evil (oh thank you!)and the historical process of projecting the contents of the psyche onto some aspect of the body. Also an inspiring section on the "cloud" as symbol in alchemy and christian mysticism for the confusing and darkening part of a person's journey inward to her own core. Also, peppered throughout are juicy tidbits about things like necromancy, pyromancy, hydromancy and something Jung himself was into for a while called Geomancy--which she explains in a brief but fascinating aside. The book is developed from transcripts of a 1969 lecture she gave in Zurich at the Jung Institute. It reads like a lecture, with the rythmns and addendums of the spoken word mostly intact, but obviously translated. That's ok--it flows like pure gold and is a great window into this whole Zurich scene and the living body of work that von Franz and Jung together embodied. This little work is bound to inspire and fuel some aspect of your own imagination. Enjoy!

Correction.......2001-09-21

I haven't read this book yet but couldn't find anywhere to request that you change your information. Ms Von Franz is no longer Jung's greatest living disciple; she no longer lives in Kusnacht; she died recently, perhaps in 1998?

a wonderful disquisition on alchemy and Jung..........2000-05-18

....from his finest student. The depth of her self-exploration-informed research shines from every page. If you can't understand why alchemy has so much to tell us about the dynamics of the unconscious and of individuation, buy this book, it's quite wonderful.

Marie-Louise Von Franz offers us a use for Dorn and alchemy........1999-11-03

Dorn's ability to attend to and faithfully express the manifestations of the unconscious contents provides a tremendous springboard for us today. It provides a springboard in that inner conflicts --the conflicts under discussion in the book --can be objectified. Marie-Louise Von Franz's own insight alongside her own experience can help us root ourselves in a world where we are not estranged from ourselves. The symbolic processes honored by Dorn are still today factors in our psychic hygiene.

Encounters With the Soul: Active Imagination As Developed by C.G. Jung

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Encounters With the Soul: Active Imagination As Developed by C.G. Jung
Barbara Hannah
Manufacturer: Chiron Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1888602147

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C.J. Jung on Active Imagination
C. G. Jung
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0415138434

I DANCE WITH THEE: An Inner Drama Synchronistically Illustrative of C. G. Jung's Active Imagination.

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I DANCE WITH THEE: An Inner Drama Synchronistically Illustrative of C. G. Jung's Active Imagination.

Manufacturer: Copley Publishing Group,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0874111145

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Old Wise Woman
Rix Weaver
Manufacturer: Shambhala
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0877736057
Release Date: 1991-03-27

Book Description

This book was one of the first works made available to a general readership on the subject of Active Imaginationâa technique developed by C. G. Jung in which the imaginal world is entered deliberately while awake in order to gain self-knowledge and resolve conflicts. In it, Rix Weaver presents an account of her work of Active Imagination with one of her analysandsâa process that began with a dream and yielded a personal myth, recounted here with amplification and commentary.

Active imagination: A record of a talk given in Zurich by Miss Barbara Hannah on September 25th 1967 at a special lecture series for the C.G. Jung Educational Center of Houston, Texas

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Active imagination: A record of a talk given in Zurich by Miss Barbara Hannah on September 25th 1967 at a special lecture series for the C.G. Jung Educational Center of Houston, Texas
Barbara Hannah
Manufacturer: C.G. Jung Educational Center
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006RLEKC

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I DANCE WITH THEE: An Inner Drama Synchronistically Illustrative of C. G. Jung's Active Imagination
Ethel J. Dorgan
Manufacturer: Copley Publ.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000TWR19W

Rencontres avec l'Âme : L'Imagination active selon C.G. Jung

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Rencontres avec l'Âme : L'Imagination active selon C.G. Jung
Barbara Hannah
Manufacturer: Edition du Dauphin
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Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 2716312265

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