Quote:It’s been called contraceptive corn and spermicidal corn. A San Diego company called Epicyte developed it.

Here’s a brief backgrounder from The Guardian, Sept. 9, 2001; “GM corn set to stop man spreading his seed,” by Robin McKie:

“Scientists have created the ultimate GM crop: contraceptive corn. Waiving fields of maize may one day save the world from overpopulation.

“The pregnancy prevention plants are the handiwork of the San Diego biotechnology company Epicyte, where researchers have discovered a rare class of human antibodies that attack sperm.

“By isolating the genes that regulate the manufacture of these antibodies, and by putting them in corn plants, the company has created tiny horticultural factories that make contraceptives.

“'We have a hothouse filled with corn plants that make anti-sperm antibodies,' said Epicyte president Mitch Hein.

“…The company, which says it will not grow the maize near other crops, says it plans to launch clinical trials of the corn in a few months.”

I love that last line. Gene drift from plant to plant, field to field, food product to food product? Apparently, Epicyte never heard of it. Every food scientist in the world knows about it, but not Epicyte.