7 ms·
Gardeners can grow a genetically modified purple tomato made with snapdragon DNA
- aaron695 2y ago[dead]
- moojacob 2y agoI'm incredibly excited Nutrient-dense GMOs.Imagine a world where produce is not only cheaper, but healthier. Unfortunately there are special interest groups who have twisted public opinion. Over 1 million kids die every year due to Vitamin A deficiency. Some of these groups are trying to ban Golden Rice, GMO rice infused with viatamin A (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/may/25/greenpeace-blocks-planting-of-lifesaving-golden-rice-philippines https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/may/25/...).
- lithos 2y agoMore likely to follow the exact path that selected breeding did. Shelf life, increased size, herbicide immunity, and similar at all other costs.
- safety1st 2y agoThe opinion of an expert in the article directly contradicts your cynicism. > The push for nutrient-dense GMOs is a recent trend, says Kathleen Hefferon, a microbiologist at Cornell University. The first wave of GMOs were for staple crops that were easier to grow. > "There was a real push of trying to achieve food security for a lot of populaces in developing countries and usually that involved making these staple crops that grew better, such as rice and corn and wheat and things like this," she explained. > A transgenic papaya was introduced to combat a virus that was destroying the crops in Hawaii. It's largely credited with saving the industry on the islands. There were also crops to increase nutritional value for populations in developing countries. Golden rice was developed in the late 1990s to have more beta-carotene to combat Vitamin A deficiencies. Because of practical and regulatory issues, the crop never took off. > The trend now is for biofortified foods, like the Purple Tomato.
- rhcom2 2y agoThere are no doubt groups against all GMOs but Monsanto definitely deserves some credit for linking GMOs with awful business and ethical practices.
- coin 2y agoWhat specifically?
- fragmede 2y agothat whole suing farmers for patent infringement for using seeds from their own fields that were contaminated by the neighbor's Monsanto plants thing sticks out for me.
- coin 2y agoI think the case you're referring to is Monsanto Canada Inc v Schmeiser. It often gets misreported that Schmeiser was sued simply for his field having been contaminated from his neighbor. The reality is that while Schmeiser's field did have some cross pollination of his neighbor's Roundup Ready canola, he intentionally applied Roundup thereby killing off his own non-RR plants. He then kept the remaining pure RR canola and replanted it on a much larger scale. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto_Canada_Inc_v_Schmeiser https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto_Canada_Inc_v_Schmeise...
- fragmede 2y agoThe reality is that the seeds were on his land, and they're seeds. It seems wrong that to sue someone for that in the first place, and then furthermore to win the case just seems wrong. The fact that he used Roundup to get the right seeds isn't this gotcha that changes public opinion. As children, before we're taught economics, we learn farmers plant seeds to grow corn to feed us. Suing the farmer for planting seeds hurts this very basic role we learned as kids. Of course the world is more complicated than the world we learned of at seven, but this is a farmer planting seeds. That bit in India also sounds horrible.
- helloworld42024 2y agoSo you're saying because 1 Million children die every year is due to Vitamin A you believe the answer is genetically modify rice rather than actually feed the children a balanced diet of Vitamin A enriched foods (carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, kale...?) or even supplements? I suppose in theory we can put every nutrient needed known to man in a grain of rice one day. But just because you could, does it mean you should? I suppose this opens up a much more broader discussion of morals, ethics and potentially alogical topics of conversation.
- sfifs 2y agoArguably yes. In this day and age of prosperity and technological development of our species, isn't it unethical and morally depraved to let children to die of malnutrition when a simple change could help? Iodine enrichment of salt achieved much the same in so many countries.
- tedunangst 2y agoIt's easier to meet the people where they are. If they eat rice, feed them better rice.
- helloworld42024 2y ago"Sorry we are having trucking difficulties and supply problems at the moment. Please take your daily serving of 1-cup all nutrient dense supplied food called Rice®™℠. Remember be grateful to your {INSERT ENTITY HERE}" ...And remember kids "It's easier to meet the people where they are!"
- kaikai 2y agoI’m surprised they didn’t mention the kerfuffle with Baker Creek Seeds and their Purple Galaxy tomatoes. They’re a seed company that’s explicitly anti-GMO, and came out with a nearly identical tomato to Norfolks. At first they doubled down and said they’d tested for gene markers and were certain their variety was non-GMO, but eventually they pulled it from the catalogue after being contacted by Norfolk.
- Suppafly 2y agoInteresting. There is plenty of market for different varieties of tomatoes so if they weren't at all related to Norfolks, I wonder why they pulled them.
- pvaldes 2y agoVery interesting how they divest the focus into the gardeners and not into the creators of the tomato. The common title would be sort of: "Scientists make a genetically modified purple tomato made with snapdragon DNA", but that could attract criticism. Its all about the message that you want convey. On the other hand probably the gen is harmless. I assume that everybody ate it yet for decades on blue tomatoes without growing a second head. The snapdragon was moved to the family Plantaginaceae, that as a whole is not great-not terrible in terms of chemistry defenses, but is still a relative of the foxglove that definitely is very dangerous. Wild black tomatoes with black flesh are poisonous normally, so this move is a little like selecting a white carrot and losing the advantage that "if is orange, is not hemlock".
- bitshiftfaced 2y agoI was under the impression that the title wanted to emphasize how this GMO seed has made it to market and can be grown freely by anyone.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- mensetmanusman 2y agoCan’t wait until we understand genetics enough to have dinosaurs that pick bubblegum tomatoes for us as servants.
- femto 2y agoHow would this sit with home gardeners' penchant for seed saving and sharing, given that it's covered by a patent (US8802925B2)? As kaikai's comment notes, this patent has already been wielded. https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=c050f213-54bd-4173-a7ec-89cc246dd0f1 https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=c050f213-54bd...
- nkurz 2y agoNorfolk (the developer) has graciously granted permission to home gardeners to save and share seeds: Will my Purple Tomato fruit make seeds? If I save the seeds, will they be viable and will the plants be the same Purple Tomato plants? Yes, this variety will produce fruit with seeds. The seeds will be viable and will produce Purple Tomato plants. Growers can save the seeds and enjoy the plants and fruits in your home garden and with your local community. The same Terms and Conditions apply to future generations. https://www.norfolkhealthyproduce.com/faqs https://www.norfolkhealthyproduce.com/faqs Personally, I've got six plants started that are all doing well. If they taste good and are as beautiful as the pictures, I plan to save seeds.
- userbinator 2y agoThe same Terms and Conditions apply to future generations Fruit that comes with an EULA? WTF.
- benkuykendall 2y agoHmm... but does it taste good? If I'm growing my own tomatoes, I'm going for something delicious like a Pink Brandywine or Cherokee Purple (which, compared to this specimen, is admittedly more brownish red than purple).
- r2_pilot 2y agoI just picked some of my first Purple tomato harvest the other day, they taste identical to regular cherry tomatoes (according to both my mom and me; I will be giving a few more from the second harvest to some other friends and coworkers).
- sciencesama 2y agoWhere can i get seeds !!??
- r2_pilot 2y agoAt this point Norfolk Healthy Produce aren't selling any more this year (pretty late in the growing season although I just started some seeds today from the remains of an animal theft just to see what happens). Your best bet for this year is to find someone local who is growing and get a tomato from them (local sharing is allowed; the terms and conditions follow the seed regardless of how you acquire). Or they'll sell packs of seeds again this winter/spring, I'm sure. I've really enjoyed growing mine, although we had a late cold snap that left me with only 2 plants. If they had allowed me to get two packs of 10 seeds, I would have.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- tedunangst 2y ago> In a research published in Nature, Martin found that mice who ate a diet supplemented with purple tomatoes lived 30% longer than those who didn't. Do humans who eat more blueberries than tomatoes live longer? Second thought: given all the ways we have to extend mice lifespans by 30% I'm surprised we don't have effectively immortal mice yet.
- userbinator 2y agoI wonder if it also "tastes purple".
- Carrok 2y agoThe anti-GMO movement is so frustrating to me. I ask people why they are against it and all they can say is "pesticides". I say, ok, but aside from that mostly unrelated issue, what is actually bad about improving food? Crickets "It's just bad! Something something Monsanto!" It comes from the same anti-science crowd that pushes things like crystals, sound healing, raiki, and astrology. Yes, I live in the Boulder, CO area, how did you guess? FTA: > Of course, some people have raised health concerns around eating GMOs, but studies since these foods were introduced three decades ago do not show any harm. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration concludes there is not a health risk to eating GM foods currently on the market.
- kyleperik 2y agoThe most prevalent use of GMOs in agriculture by far is resistance to roundup herbicide, enabling free use to knock out other weeds. Other GMOs are rarely viable on the wider market, likely because natural mutation and selection are just more efficient for improving varieties. > what is actually bad about improving food? With that said, I'd suggest you reconsider your opposite premise that GMOs invariably improve food. I agree your mentioned echo chambers are unhelpful, just try to avoid feeding into it with equally uninformed opinions.
- Carrok 2y agoJust because people use it one way, does not mean it is not useful in other ways. Please, inform my opinion. I am always open to new data, as we all should be.
- lukaslalinsky 2y agoThe main thing is that you can't really know the long-term effects of changing the biodiversity on the planet. It's fairly common that extensive plant breading is producing plants that are less healthy, more prone to diseases. That's why "pesticides" is an argument, but it's not the main argument. What happens when these tomato genes spread too heavily and you will not even be able to produce tomatoes with just soil, water and sun? What if they spread to other plants? (Plants to cross-pollinate).
- fortran77 2y agoWow! An Arm core in my tomato!
- userbinator 2y ago...and there will inevitably be a cheaper version, with Dimensity DNA instead.
- b0ner_t0ner 2y agoCame for the tech news, stayed for the dad jokes.
- cafard 2y agoNow if they could just grow and market tomatoes that taste like a tomato.