I’m an apple loyalist—I pack one as an after-lunch snack nearly every day of the week. So I jumped at the chance to sample this [Arctic Golden apple, the first genetically modified apple available to consumers], at an event hosted by the environmental technology think tank the Breakthrough Institute in San Francisco. The apple was crisp and mildly sweet, and pretty much tasted to me like any normal Golden Delicious apple. But there was one difference: When I let a slice sit on my plate for half an hour, it never turned brown.
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[A]ccording to the Breakthrough Institute: “By eliminating superficial bruising and browning, the Arctic Apple holds the potential to dramatically reduce consumer food waste once it enters the market.” … Around the world, almost half of all fruits and vegetables are wasted every year, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization, and that includes a startling 3.7 trillion apples.…
[T]he Arctic apples are one of the first genetically modified foods created to please consumers, rather than farmers. … Many shoppers will probably buy the Arctic apple without any idea that it’s genetically modified. Dana Perls, senior food and technology campaigner for Friends of the Earth, … argues that the effects of eating gene-silenced fruit have not been investigated thoroughly enough. “The Food and Drug Administration and the USDA are not prepared and have not caught up with current genetic engineering technology,” she says.…
On March 20, 2015 the FDA concluded that the “apples are not materially different in safety, nutrition, composition, or other relevant characteristics from food and feed from apples currently on the market.”
Read full, original post: Shhhh. The “Gene Silenced” Apple Is Coming.
