[Merle]

Originally Posted by Rachel C. Dechenne

Thanks William! the PCW report sounds familiar, particularly the bit presenting genomics as a panacea.
(By the way, I would very much like to read the entire report but I can't access your link . That's what I've got under the Attached Files sign:To view attachments your post count must be 5 or greater. Your post count is 0 momentarily. ?????)
In a perfect world, genomics would be developed to screen entire population (poor and rich) to find people with predisposition for ill-health and thus prevent suffuring and stigmatization of individuals as well as reducing cost of health care for the society as a whole. However, we don't live in this ideal world and this trajectory, although often praised as the goal, is not in practice the one favoured by the industry backed up by the governments. Why? I leave this to your own appreciation. I pasted a comment from my 2006 dissertation on the "Trajectories of public research in Nutrigenomics in the US and the EU".

5.1 Will public investments in Nutrigenomics advance the role of nutrition in Public Health?
"As for the US public research system, several exchanges with US experts in the field has suggested to me, in a nutshell: “the product-based approach to nutrigenomics research in the USA might be oriented primarily to the pharmaceutical industry interest rather than the food industry or public health interests. One can make money off genes and small molecules that inhibit their protein products, but it may not be as lucrative to do the same with food. This might be because those “chemicals” (naturally occurring from food) cannot be protected and marketed into blockbuster like drug. The direction of the nutrigenomics research enterprise in the US has generated a large windfall for the pharma industry through basic research they do not have to do or fund in house. The research essentially rules out the genes and proteins that cannot produce some drug. Some nutrigenomics researchers, however, pro personalized nutrition, are trying to change the mindset”. At the end of the day, one might look at the nutrigenomics trajectories in the US more like a game between two industries -drug and food - rather than a race towards enhancing public health. "
Cheers,Rachel

That is strange about your post count, I am sure they will look into it for you. Or you could hurry up and get your 5th post

Welcome to the site by the way!