Remember the days when tomatoes smelled and tasted, well, like tomatoes? As technology has changed so has the way we look at food. What is known as genetic engineering, the process of altering the genetic makeup of cells or moving genes across species to create new products altogether, is the newest thing in food production.

Driving force behind this mass production of produce?

Supporters Perspective

• better taste and quality
• shorter period for maturation
• added nutrients stronger products and more tolerant
• pesticide, disease and pests resistant
• the green factor, conserve soil, water and energy
• improved natural waste management
• food security for the growing world

Critics Perspective

• health concerns: allergens, transfer of antibiotic resistance markers, unknown effects
• environmental concerns: transfer of genes through cross-pollination, effects on other organisms, soil
• world food would be dominated by a few
• developing nations will become dependent on industrialized nations
• foreign exploitation of natural resources
• alternating nature by through the process of mixing genes among species
• labeling products is not mandatory (Not mandatory in some countries i.e, United States)

It is interesting to note there are over 300 products in production which will be hittitng your neighborhood markets any day now. UMM---yum! Bring on the genetically modified strawberries. Maybe they will even remove the seeds on the outside. Whose novel idea was it to put those there?

Tomatoes

Ah yes. The infamous tomato. Several companies are in the process of producing tomatoes that can be vine-ripened and shipped without bruising. How convenient you say! But wait, there's more. There are also plans to transform tomatoes used for ketchup, soups and sauces into a thicker, more solid model which will also contain more lycopene (the bright red carotenoid pigment found in tomatoes and other red fruits).The theory is, if you create a "new and improved" tomato, one that is thicker in its texture, the fewer tomatoes needed to produce a bottle of ketchup. (Aha, greed is evidenced!) And why not throw in some extra nutrients like lycopene to disguise the real issue.

Cantaloupe

The last time you bit into a chunk of cantaloupe, was it sweet enough for you? Well no worries because yet another company is working to improve the sweetness of melons produced for the winter market just for you! If you are lucky the same technology will be used for peaches and coming soon to a marketplace near you. Whatever happened to eating fruits in the heart of the season? Genetic engineering has altered that all too familiar process.

Strawberries

Did you know that the Arctic Flounder can produce an antifreeze to protect itself from the freezing waters? Well, what if strawberries could do they same thing! Plans are in the works to locate the gene that regulates production of the antifreeze and introduce it into strawberries plants. Because we all hate it when strawberries turn mushy after sitting in our freezers. EEEWWW