Gentifcally modified apples that don't brown? WHat do you think?

Genetically modified foods, its such a hot debate right now. Corn, papayas, zuchinni, tomatoes are all foods that have been genetically modified, with now apples joining their ranks. 

Okaganan Specialty Fruits Inc., has developed genetically modified  granny smith apples and golden deliciousapples that don't brown.

This is a hot debate because of the bad repuation that GM foods has gained. Many people say they don't agree with GM-ing foods because it "isn't natural" or because there  are "untested effects" that could spring up in the future.

The truth is, if some plants wre not GM-ed, they would not be able to meet the hefty supply and demand of todays market.

For example, in the 1990's Hawaii's papya industry came to the verge of collapse when the deadly papya ringspot virus broke out and wiped out most of the papya crops. During the crisis a papya crop that was genetically engineered to be resistant to the virus. The papya industry recovered but nearly 80% of the papayas that came from Hawaii were genetically modified after that.

 Imagine how bad this would be for something like corn and soy beans. Whether Americans like to admit it or not, corn and say is in nearly EVERYTHING. Corn syrup is a cheaper alternative to sugar, and soy lecithen is an emulsifier that can be found almost on every grocery label. Whether this is the way it should be or not, one thing everyone must admit is if the corn and soybean supply was interupted for some reason, prices of food would sky rocket, people would sadly lose their jobs, and the economy would take a turn for the worst.

The apples that have been recently genetically engineered not to turn brown don't turn brown because their genes have been altered to stop of the melanin process. Cells in the apple's flesh that are exposed to oxygen oxidize and from a pigement called melanin. When the action that prevents cellular cascade making the cells create melanin stops, they don't turn brown.

The question is should apples be a GM food? What should be the basis for genetically modifying a crop? Should it be for aestethic reasons like not turning brown or being rounder? Or should it be something like what happened to the papaya crops, to evade extinction from a virus?

We at Fruit Occasions work with fruits all day long and take proud in our work. Leave a comment and let us know what you think about genetically modified crops.