Humans have been genetically modifying crops for thousands of years. Here are some examples of what some popular foods used to look like.

Ever wonder how your food would look and taste if humans had not genetically modified them over the course of agricultural history? For thousands of years, farmers and scientists of earlier times have manipulated crop seeds to get the best flavor and yields. The fruits (and vegetables) of that success have transformed much of the produce found in grocery stores worldwide. It’s the roots of the agricultural biotechnology revolution.

It’s also informative to note that more than 3,000 grains, fruits and vegetables have been “created” in a laboratory by subjecting them with gamma rays and/or highly toxic chemicals to artificially scramble their DNA–and have since been marketed as organic, including Ruby Red grapefruits and much of the flavorful and top selling organic Italian pasta. Read about that here: Pasta? Ruby grapefruits? Why organic devotees love foods mutated by radiation and chemicals

This article is an updated version of a story last revised on the GLP on February 18, 2022.