Consider the kiwi. Arrived at by traditional selective breeding of the Chinese gooseberry and marketed aggressively by New Zealanders, it has become popular worldwide. Yet, as Israeli plant scientist Jonathan Gressel points out, “If the kiwi fruit had been genetically engineered, it would not be on our tables. A very small proportion of the population develops severe allergies to kiwi fruit with a wide range of symptoms, from localized oral allergy syndrome to life-threatening anaphylaxis, which can occur within minutes after eating the fruit.” (Peanuts, shellfish, wheat, dairy products, and other common foods also cause allergies; they—and the kiwi—could some day be made nonallergenic with genetic engineering, and should be. A nonallergenic GE peanut is already being developed at the University of Georgia.)
— Stewart Brand in the annotated Whole Earth Discipline, chapter 5 - Green Genes
