"Apples are joining the ranks of biotech fruit sold in US grocery stores. The first commercial harvest of GMO golden delicious apples will ship from Washington State orchards to about 400 Midwestern grocery stores in early November. They’ll be sold sliced up in 10-ounce grab bags, and because they’re modified, they take much longer to brown when exposed to air. Genetically modified crops are mainstream for US commodities like corn and soybeans, but that isn’t the case with fruits. There’s little financial incentive because of the costs of changing food rules and the risks of consumer pushback, said Kevin Folta, a horticulture professor at the University of Florida. Papayas from Hawaii, engineered to resist a deadly virus, are the only other biotech fruit at supermarkets. There’s no evidence genetically modified foods cause health problems, many experts say, but the technology is still controversial, with some consumers willing to pay more for food with GMO-free labeling. But Okanagan Specialty Fruits is betting the convenience of non-browning apples will make up for consumer concerns. It has harvested about 50 metric tons of so-called Arctic apples, the moniker given to the GMO crop."
Related:
"Drum roll, please, for the worst bill of all: legislation mandating GMO labeling for foods. About two-thirds of all food sold in the United States contain genetically modified ingredients. Despite the unfounded hysteria GMOs provoke, they’ve been used safely for more than two decades. People who don’t want to consume GMO products can buy non-GMO food, which is labeled as such. The bill would enshrine unscientific paranoia into law and be an embarrassment to a state that’s home to so many leading scientists. Nuts — organic or otherwise — to that."
Every apple has its worm.
