Fishy Tomato

Natural Tomato

Photo: Mason Masteka

Even though genetically modified tomatoes are not widely consumed in the US, they have been approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration and remain unlabeled. One of the traits created by DNA Plant Tec was resistance to cold temperatures for longer storage life. While this GMO trait might seem harmless, its created by inserting DNA from the Winter Flounder into the tomato’s DNA. So in the case of GMO tomatoes, there is actually a “Fishy Tomato.”

What Wikipedia says about tomatoes:
The tomato is the edible, often red fruit from the the plant Solanum lycopersicum, commonly known as the tomato plant. Both the species and its use as a food originated in Mexico, and spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Its many varieties are now widely grown, sometimes in greenhouses in cooler climates.

The tomato is consumed in diverse ways, including raw, as an ingredient in many dishes, sauces, salads, and drinks. While it is botanically a fruit, it is considered a vegetable for culinary purposes, which has caused some confusion. The fruit is rich in lycopene, which may have beneficial health effects.

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GMO Tomato

A genetically modified tomato, or transgenic tomato is a tomato that has had its genes modified, using genetic engineering. The first commercially available genetically modified food was a tomato engineered by Calgene to have a longer shelf life (the Flavr Savr). This product was a failure because no Americans wanted to buy a GMO tomato. Currently there are no genetically modified tomatoes available commercially, but scientists are developing tomatoes with new traits like increased resistance to pests or environmental stresses. In 1997 the Monsanto Company completed the purchase of Calgene.

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