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By Joanne Laucius 
The Ottawa Citizen

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     In downtown, Vancouver's Coal Harbour futurist Frank Ogden runs his global television show from his houseboat.

In the future, people will grow the food they need to live. On their own heads. 

New advances in biotechnology mean it will soon be possible to splice plant genes into human DNA. That will mean that humans will be able to convert sunlight into food on their own bodies, says Vancouver-based futurist Frank Ogden. 

"We now have the ability to transfer genes not only between humans and animals, but also between plants and animals," said Mr. Ogden, pointing to the example of genetically engineered canola that can be grown even in areas with early frost because it contains an "anti-freeze" gene transferred from the Atlantic flounder.

In another example, scientists transferred the gene that causes a firefly to light up into tobacco, creating tobacco that lights itself up, said Mr. Ogden, 79, who writes a syndicated column and broadcasts Internet television shows from his houseboat in the Vancouver harbour.

"You should be able to have human arms, say, that act as a solar panel to collect sunlight. The hair follicles could grow an edible food," said Mr. Ogden. 

Grow a crop of broccoli instead of hair? 

"That's pushing the envelope. But ever since they moved the firefly gene, nothing is impossible," said Mr. Ogden, whose predictions include one that teenagers will some day use plant and animal genes to create "designer" statements such as crocodile or zebra skin on their bodies, much the way they get tattoos or body piercing to make a statement now. 

"Some people might not like green hair. They might want another gene," said Mr. Ogden, who also believes that genetic engineering will make it possible for people to design their own pets. "Kids will be in their own basements creating new life forms," he said. 

"There will be 100,000 bio-hackers creating new life forms." 

Mr. Ogden acknowledges that many people say his brave new world sounds scary. But he believes the technologies that would allow these predictions to happen can't be legislated away. 

Already, scientists who feel constrained by laws simply move to other jurisdictions, said Mr. Ogden, a pilot and Second World War flight engineer who later spent time with tribes in East Africa, the Sahara desert and Papua New Guinea. 

Mr. Ogden has no academic qualifications, and says his lack of a university degree is his biggest asset. Large corporations such as IBM often hire him to give talks to employees. 

"People in North America are so stuffy," he said. "It's going to come. You can't escape this." 

Can the bodies of real humans rival the Jolly Green Giant as sources of food?

Anything is possible,says futurist Frank Ogden. 

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