[Gizmo]

Key to sweeter tomatoes uncovered

Researchers have found a gene that controls the sugar content of tomatoes, so they are now able to up the sweetness of tomatoes, and it works for all flowering fruit plants. When they do this, they get 60% higher tomato yields, so you know all farmers will plant the higher yield plants, and this isn't just about tomatoes, but all flowering fruit plants. This is bad news for diabetics.

 

[Patdart]

Man, I hate to read this! Heirloom tomatoes may be better for us.

Phooey!

 

[Shanny]

And my fried green tomatoes . . . they're messin' with my fried green tomatoes!

 

[Guest]

I have strong views on messing with nature. Being that all humans are prone to error, no doubt these new man made fruit and vegetables will come with side effects. lol.

 

[fgummett]

Most of what we eat in the produce section are recent hybrids or cultivars that bear little resemblance to their wild cousins -- here are some wild strawberries for example...

or a wild banana (complete with the seeds, lacking in the sterile cultivars we eat today)...

I do draw a distinction between the selective fertilisation or other cultivation methods used to develop these cultivars, and the genetic manipulation discussed in the OP's article but my main point is that we need to keep all this in mind when faced with people who encourage 8-10 servings of fruit and veg everyday based on the premise that these are the best source of many nutrients and that man as a species has always eaten fruit and veg.

As Kurt Harris MD says at his Archevore Blog...

Most modern fruit is just a candy bar from a tree. Go easy on bags of sugar like apples. Stick with berries and avoid watermelon which is pure fructose. Eat in moderation. If you are not trying to lose fat, a few pieces of fruit a day are fine.

 

[foxl]

 

[fgummett]

On a related note I recently listened to Dr Tracey Green Nevada State Health Officer on Jimmy Moore's Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show... at one point she recounts how she asked some school children to name their favourite fruit -- to which they resoundingly replied "juice"... and their favourite vegetable was of course "fries" ... closely followed by ketchup :dizzy:

 

[Guest]

On a related note I recently listened to Dr Tracey Green Nevada State Health Officer on Jimmy Moore's Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show... at one point she recounts how she asked some school children to name their favourite fruit -- to which they resoundingly replied "juice"... and their favourite vegetable was of course "fries" ... closely followed by ketchup :dizzy:

how sad is that! I think I recall Jamie Oliver asking school children about vegetables too and none of them could answer correctly when he showed them the vegetable.