Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Genetically Modified Fruits and Vegetables

Most of the fruits, vegetables and grains that we eat are "genetically modified," and have been for eons.

Broccoli does not exist in the wild. Neither does cauliflower, wild kohlrabi, wild brussels sprouts, or cabbage.

Ditto for Ruby Red Grapefruit, sweet corn, Red Delicious Apples, Angus beef cattle and Holstein milk cows.

The chicken in my curry has no real counterpart in the wild, nor does the rice boiling on the stove, or the tangerine sitting on the kitchen counter.

So why would anyone freak out in the slightest from the idea of genetically modified fruits and vegetables?

But of course a lot of people do, and because of that it's extremely easy to fool people.

For example, which of these genetically modified vegetables, fruits and animals are real?

5 comments:

Timmy said...

Grapples are just Gala or Fuji apples treated with grape flavored water. Not really a "cross" between grapes and apples.

Anonymous said...

I laughed at one study I read -- and this has been 10 years ago or so. The study, there were two questions (out of hundreds) that were asked:

How do you feel about genetically modified produce? about 85% of the people did not like genetically modified produce.

Do you prefer your grapes with seeds or seedless?

90% of people preferred seedeless grapes.

Seedless grapes are of course genetically modified, but if people don't stop to think about it, you're all good.

CERBERO e BILLY said...

Old philosophy of grandparents farmers: The apple with the worm and increasingly good!
Today, if not all of the same magnitude do not eat, do not want them!

Maybe they will have not ever tasted the taste of an apple wild, fabulous!
We are in the era of consumerism!

All the things said the television is taken for real.
Everything must have a standard, which sometimes is not true that quality means, the opposite and as for the dogs! Have never experienced the taste of beef, lamb or chicken that eats grass or grain the pork raised in the wild!
I say that the majority of people of the city not to eat!

It's called conditioning!

People believe that advertising for the package of potato chips more nutritious 1 apple : The truth is

Mirko

Stoutheartedhounds said...

I'm not against genetically modified foods, but in my opinion "Grapples" should be called "crapples." They taste like an apple that's been injected with grape-flavored cough syrup.

PBurns said...

Final answer (I think): Glo-fish are a true genetically modified creature. The rest are fictions (most of them) or simple hybrids (such as Pluots and Tangelos).

Yet, if you do to the links supplies (or others on the Internet) will find that most web sites and blogs have presented the rest of the named items (such as the Grapple) as something they are not.

This is not to say that gene-modification is not going to give us really amazing things soon. It already is. But most of the products names here are not among them, nor have most of the "research" products ever left the lab.

Patrick