Mouse

I was stunned by your editorial regarding the genetically engineered mouse (“Building a Better Mouse,” April 14). It appears we are once again undone by our Western mentality. A mouse is a living being, not a tool in the war against cancer.

Cancer will be cured at the dinner table, not in the research labs. What we eat defines our health. Our society has denied personal responsibility for health. It is more content to search for a magic pill to cure itself. In this search, however, we may find our own destruction. Genetic engineering upsets the delicate ecological balance of this Earth. We cannot afford to tinker with genes as one would tinker with a replaceable part in a washing machine.

It is disappointing to find your editors also are into denial about what we are really doing with the quality of life.

SHARON R. LINNENKOHL

Reseda