As a young patent attorney with an academic background in the plant and biotechnology fields, you can imagine how exciting it was for me to be recruited as inhouse patent counsel at Calgene LLC. My job was to develop and protect the Davis company’s intellectual property resulting from its research and development program; but without a doubt, the most exciting thing going on while I was with Calgene was the development of the first genetically engineered food to market: the Flavr-Savr tomato.

I was then and remain today particularly excited about the potential for new technologies and discoveries in the field of biotechnology to improve food and its production. That said, when I joined Calgene, I had no idea of the level of controversy swirling around the company’s soon-to-be-introduced product. Since this was the first opportunity for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to evaluate and approve a genetically engineered food, there was understandable caution, and approval was a long time in coming.

The FDA’s review of the Flavr-Savr tomato began in August 1991, and it lasted until May 1994. Long before the FDA’s approval, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had already granted permission to Calgene for a large-scale production of the tomato. The company went through a cyclical practice of growing and then plowing under fields of tomatoes as the FDA approval process dragged along and scheduled approval dates came and went.

During the lengthy FDA approval process, the controversy about the tomato rose to a crescendo and a great deal of misinformation made its way into the marketplace. Many people morally opposed the premise of genetically engineering food, comparing it to “playing God” or referring to it as “Frankenfood” (still a favored term among opponents of the technology). On a few occasions, protesters ranging from Greenpeace to the Union for Concerned Scientists even entered our offices.

My first-hand experience with the tomato was very different. Throughout the approval process at Calgene, employees were treated to frequent taste tests in the lunchroom. We would go down during our breaks and sample trays of ripe tomatoes in a blind taste test some Flavr-Savr, some not and then rate them. It was sort of like our own version of the Pepsi Challenge. Often, extra tomatoes would be available from the field tests and I would take these home to my family, not even knowing which tomatoes were Flavr-Savr and which were not. It didn’t matter because they all were very good and completely healthy.

The inherent problem with most of the protestors was that they didn’t understand or were misinformed about the science and technology behind the tomatoes. One of the many urban myths claimed Calgene’s tomatoes would grow square, not round (if only! they’d be so much easier to dice that way). Another claimed the tomatoes contained anti-freeze to protect them from frost. One prominent rumor alleged that Calgene had added a “fish” gene to the tomatoes, making those individuals allergic to fish now allergic to tomatoes, as well. These claims and others like them were verifiably false, and many of them were downright silly.

The truth? Calgene had simply isolated the natural gene that makes a tomato soften when ripe and found a way to inhibit its expression using the same genetic sequence. Thanks to the company’s biotechnology, tomatoes can now ripen longer in the field, which improves flavor, and still be firm enough to pick and ship to market.

Perhaps my most memorable experience at Calgene was the day following the FDA’s approval when the company finally rolled out the Flavr-Savr tomato. For the product’s much-ballyhooed arrival, Calgene selected a local, independent grocery store in Davis to be the first to sell the tomato, and the company invited the general public and many members of the media to attend and have a taste. Calgene also encouraged its employees to bring their families to the roll out. The result was a great event, many images of which were captured by TV cameras and showed customers, employees, spouses and kids happily eating the tomato and offering rave reviews. Attack of the Killer Tomatoes? Not even close.

Patent attorney Carl J. Schwedler is of counsel in the Sacramento office of McDonough Holland & Allen. He practices in the firm’s intellectual property section and has significant experience in biotechnology matters. Carl can be reached at (916) 444-3900 or cschwedler@mhalaw.com.