Interview with Jonathan Javitt, author of Capitol Reflections

Last week I was sent an interview with Jonathan Javitt, the author of Capitol Reflections (which I reviewed and am hosting a giveaway for until November 15, 2008). I don’t normally post canned interviews, but I saw a number of misconceptions about genetically modified food reappearing time and again in the giveaway entries (which is why I asked those questions in the first place … a-ha, nefarious me).

This particular topic is one that I follow closely both as a consumer and as a former molecular biology technician (*ducking to avoid the virtual rotten tomatoes lobbed in my direction at that admission*). It may or may not surprise you to know that the great majority of people I know who genuinely understand the technology behind crop engineering (those people being my fellow science geeks) are not fans of genetically modified food. So much for a common assertion by the industry that only people who are ignorant of the technology are against it. Anyway, my interest in this topic is why I am posting part of the interview.

I could climb up on my virtual soapbox (or, stay on it, depending on your view) and go on about this topic, but this is a book blog so I’m posting a snippet from the author interview. If you learn something or have a question that isn’t answered, please leave a comment. If there is enough interest, I will try to get your questions answered in a uncanned interview.

There may be some mild spoilers in this interview, but I don’t think it gives much away or I wouldn’t post it:

Interviewer: How much of this story is based in fact?

Javitt: As the afterword of the book says, it’s entirely a work of fiction. The names of some of the good guys are appropriated from friends of mine. The scientists who uncover the conspiracy and the methods they use are definitely based on people I have known and worked with much of my career. In fact, the inspiration for Gwen is, in part, based on the FDA scientist who single-handedly stopped Thalidomide from entering the US, at grave peril to her career. The bad guys, however, are not based on any living person. That said, I believe that with sufficient greed and lack of morality, someone could perpetrate a conspiracy along the lines of the Capitol Reflections.

Interviewer: What do you think about bio-engineered foods? Is bio-engineering dangerous for our health and for agriculture as a whole?

Javitt: In general, bio-engineered foods have led the way to better crop yields, tastier and more nutritious fruits and vegetables, produce with longer shelf life, and other benefits to producers and consumers of America’s harvest. At the same time, Congress never imagined the potential for genetic modification when our food safety laws were originally enacted. Therefore, submitting genetically modified foods to FDA for safety review is driven more by voluntary agreement between producers and FDA than it is by regulatory law.

Interviewer: Is it really possible for food to be engineered in such a way as to make it more addictive and to make us unwittingly more hungry for that specific food?

Javitt: There’s no question than an addictive substance could be engineered into a food. I have long suspected the world’s chocolate manufacturers of doing just that (only kidding). The question is not whether it could be done. The question, as in all thrillers, is whether someone will be sufficiently motivated by greed and avarice to do it. Probably the most addicting food additive today is sugar. Over the last 40 years, it has found its way into numerous foods – from bread to French fries – that never contained sugar before the advent of fast food chains.

Interviewer: Capitol Reflections implies that food corporations have perhaps an undue amount of influence in our government, or even use underhanded or illegal methods to consolidate their positions. Is that element of the story line based on your experience in Washington?

Javitt: Absolutely not. The element inherent in many good thrillers is the notion that a perfectly ordinary, upstanding enterprise (John Grisham made his fame with a law firm and Robin Cook with a hospital) that people use and trust every day is actually a front for a nefarious conspiracy. The people whom I have met in America’s food industry are as honest and ethical as those in any other major industry. That said, any industry that forgets to put its long term interests and reputation ahead of its short term desire for profits is ripe for malfeasance of one sort or another.

If you learned something from the interview or have a question that wasn’t answered, please leave a comment (and if you entered the giveaway I’ll even give you an extra entry). As I said above, if there is enough interest I will look into having your questions answered by the author.