Genetically Engineered Fruit
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Remember the days when tomatoes smelled and tasted, well, like tomatoes? As technology has changed so has the way we look at food. What is known as genetic engineering, the process of altering the genetic makeup of cells or moving genes across species to create new products altogether, is the newest thing in food production.
Pros and Cons
Driving force behind this mass production of produce?
Supporters Perspective
- better taste and quality
- shorter period for maturation
- added nutrients stronger products and more tolerant
- pesticide, disease and pests resistant
- the green factor, conserve soil, water and energy
- improved natural waste management
- food security for the growing world
Critics Perspective
- health concerns: allergens, transfer of antibiotic resistance markers, unknown effects
- environmental concerns: transfer of genes through cross-pollination, effects on other organisms, soil
- world food would be dominated by a few
- developing nations will become dependent on industrialized nations
- foreign exploitation of natural resources
- alternating nature by through the process of mixing genes among species
- labeling products is not mandatory (Not mandatory in some countries i.e, United States)
Where and What to buy
It is interesting to note there are over 300 products in production which will be hittitng your neighborhood markets any day now. UMM---yum! Bring on the genetically modified strawberries. Maybe they will even remove the seeds on the outside. Whose novel idea was it to put those there?
Tomatoes
Ah yes. The infamous tomato. Several companies are in the process of producing tomatoes that can be vine-ripened and shipped without bruising. How convenient you say! But wait, there's more. There are also plans to transform tomatoes used for ketchup, soups and sauces into a thicker, more solid model which will also contain more lycopene (the bright red carotenoid pigment found in tomatoes and other red fruits).The theory is, if you create a "new and improved" tomato, one that is thicker in its texture, the fewer tomatoes needed to produce a bottle of ketchup. (Aha, greed is evidenced!) And why not throw in some extra nutrients like lycopene to disguise the real issue.
Cantaloupe
The last time you bit into a chunk of cantaloupe, was it sweet enough for you? Well no worries because yet another company is working to improve the sweetness of melons produced for the winter market just for you! If you are lucky the same technology will be used for peaches and coming soon to a marketplace near you. Whatever happened to eating fruits in the heart of the season? Genetic engineering has altered that all too familiar process.
Strawberries
Did you know that the Arctic Flounder can produce an antifreeze to protect itself from the freezing waters? Well, what if strawberries could do they same thing! Plans are in the works to locate the gene that regulates production of the antifreeze and introduce it into strawberries plants. Because we all hate it when strawberries turn mushy after sitting in our freezers. EEEWWW
Genetically Engineered Food
CommentsLoading...
William,
I will do the research for you and get back to you. Bottom line is-- we don't know WHAT we are eating. Bring back the simple days of natural food. Thanks for your comment.
C.J.
Hey,
Here's an interesting link to companies who use GE foods and those that do not. Buy organic whenever possible.
Although I can't eat the tomatoes offered on supermarket shelves, I fear the GE's have succeeded in getting me addicted to most of the popular brands mentioned on the link you provided. At my age, all hope may be lost for me! Believe it or not, I find Hunt's whole tomatoes in a can to be as good (edible, that is) as any tomatoes that are available. Thanks for your interest.
Very interesting subject. The question that I have is can you even find natural seeds so you can plant your own fruits and vegetables.
Here's another helpful website to help identify GE fruits.
http://www.ehow.com/how_2077331_id-genetically-eng
C.J.
Great information, I distrust GE foods and love tomatoes.
Bob,
Thanks for your comment. I too feel GE foods are the enemy.
C.J.
It's sad what people to to natural friuites I love the info thanks
I did an experiment in my gentic class about strawberries being genetically modified. The results were that it is not genetically modified. ( i wonder if we did something wrong)
it is an intersting topic and useful
thank you
Strawberries are my favorite fruit. They used to be small deep red and very sweet but now they are huge and tasteless with a green pulp inside a red skin. eeww
So this is my question.
Can organic certified strawberries be genetically altered? I thought organic meant not just organically grown without pesticides but natural no genetic mutation! I picked up some strawberried today and they are huge and certified organic.
I am opposed to these altered fruit and veg that do not have the flavour or smell that they should have! I am also very worried about the damage to human health and the environment this "frankenscience" is doing!
I have recently heard that there is a bill they want to pass that will make organic farming illegal and that is even more worrying! As for the Monsanto company they are simply evil!
Most organic foods in the supermarket are grown by factory farms anyway. "Organic" is a description of farming practices, not scale.
I LOVE tomatoes and i wish they didnt have those GE foods anymore. Its so hard to finr REAL food these days
heyy baby i love you Geurrero. wanna spend the rest of my life with you sexy tiger.
P.S i'm a MAN
i'm HOt
ohh i agree 100% with ur akuzation of GE frutis but sea biskit...if you need a friend im here
C.J...YOUR gay...wanna do it
I like your style
sweet
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AWSOME
i'm from georgia(country in Caucasus region,not US state) and georgian people grew 100% natural fruits and vegetables for years,that's proved,but some businessmen begun to bring tasteless giant fruit from turkey and also seeds for much lower prices and they took our fruits and vegetables to turkey..so that last few years you can see a lot of poeple selling gm fruits,but still you can find real strawberry with such tasty aroma..we have just the season for strawberry and it's quite cheap comparing with west europe countries..about 1 euro/kg of sweet best ones to choose,without any genetic sells..
but still, i'm afraid gm production will go verywhere and i heard it also causes cancer except allergy,as this produtcion caueses mutation of sells,what's mostly cancer...
and by the way,gm products are the best way to controll the number of population and very good way to make calm genocide as mostly gm products don't disappear without any effect in human body and it's individual when someone will feel it's bad effect,so try to eat minimum of such products,don't save your money on cheap giant fruits and vegetables..take care of your health..alll...
My God, we have strawberries the size of pears.. what the heck is wrong with this country.. See Dr. Mercola's articles on this subject. No SCIENCE was used.. only large companies out to make a buck... Why pick 100 strawberries when you can pick just 10 and have the same weight ? I'm fed up with our government and the their lack of common sense. It's government's job to research and do what is best on such issues... not to just listen to the company with the largest pocketbook.
i hate it so much yu would have tew pay me money tew eat that p.s r.d.f
lol tyh rite raetrece p.s c.t.j
GMO - help me!!!!!
yall so stupid!! tht some stupid Sugar honey bunches of oats!!
William F. Torpey Level 4 Commenter 4 years ago
I'm so glad to see this hub. You've touched on one of my major pet peeves. Tomatoes and potatoes are my favorites. I could consume REAL tomatoes by the bushel but, sadly, I can no longer find an edible tomato -- even those that friends tell me they grew in their gardens. They look like tomatoes, and it's nice that they can ship them commercially without bruising them, but they in no way are similar to an actual tomato. It's not hard to find good potatoes, but good tomatoes are nonexistent. Bottom line: The only tomatoes I've been able to find do not taste anything like REAL tomatoes; they are barely edible. If you know where REAL tomatoes may be found I'd love to see a hub describing where (or how) they can be obtained.