> Ralph Shortey wants a law to
ensure that aborted human fetuses are NOT used
>
for "enhancing flavor"
in manufacturing food.
Actually, the quote was:
“There is a potential that there are companies that are using aborted human babies in their research and development of basically enhancing flavor for artificial flavors,"
And from the article that zenelectron posted (and thank you zen for posting the link):
All but 7 of the company's 77 patents refer to the use of HEK 293 (human embryonic kidney) cells. The company appears to be engineering HEK cells to function like the taste-receptor cells we have in our mouth. This way, Senomyx can test millions of substances to see if they work as different types of taste enhancers without subjecting human volunteers to endless taste tests.
So the lawmaker's quote appears to be accurate, but wildly distorted by bloggers and media wishing to put their own spin on it. The bottom line is, embryonic kidney cells are being used in research and development, and (the fact that PepsiCo, Kraft, Nestlee, and others have contracted with them make it likely) that some of that research and development is related to food products. No, that does not mean they are "putting baby parts in food", but it does show another side to things. While the push to use embryonic stem cells was "justified" as necessary to medical research to find cures for various debilitating diseases (and I'm still waiting for that cure for type I diabetes), once the door is open to use embryonic and fetal tissue for "research and development", it can be used for any research and development, included "automated taste testing artificial flavors" for food products. It's called The Slippery Slope, and we are quickly sliding down it.
dti
