The colour purple, more than a movie
Excitement and dismay swept through social media recently. In this case, tomato seeds were the issue. The excitement was over potential health benefits of the plant and the dismay was because the seeds are genetically modified, and $20 U.S. for only 10 seeds.
Of course, the thought that gene manipulation taking place in a lab by huge, nefarious multinational companies creating new plants purely for profit is enough to induce fear and mistrust in the public. Despite many seed companies tagging flower and vegetable seeds as GMO free, this is the first such plant available to home gardeners. Prior to this, it’s only been cost-effective to develop GMO plants for agriculture.
The tomato, labelled “The Purple Tomato,” is a variety created using genetic modification by a company called Norfolk Healthy Produce, founded by Prof. Cathie Martin and scientists at the University of East Anglia in the U.K. The seeds are currently available only in the U.S., where they have cleared regulatory hurdles and received necessary approval from government agencies.
Other purple tomatoes, which are only purple skinned, have long been available, but this is the first one created by the manipulation of genes in a laboratory, and it is purple throughout the fruit.
One of the concerns of GM plants is the insertion of genes from an entirely different species, animals to plants for instance. This was not the case with The Purple Tomato. It was bioengineered by introducing two plant pigment genes from a snapdragon (antirrhinum), an edible plant, to increase levels of anthocyanins, an antioxidant. Antioxidants found in “super foods” like blueberries have recognized health benefits and are already present in ordinary tomatoes. The addition of genes from the snapdragon is said to enhance those benefits.
So far, GM plants have been licensed only for use in agriculture under a highly regulated process with penalties for saving seeds. The Purple Tomato is described as an open pollinated variety, so home gardeners can save the seeds from year to year. It’s also an indeterminate cherry variety that will produce fruit throughout the season.
That sounds exciting, but it will cause dismay to anyone who feels strongly about anything genetically modified, and I understand that. There are legitimate fears about where this can take us, especially when those huge multinational corporations are seen to be driving the changes. However, like any change there is good and bad, and although the bad may be unacceptable, the good can be in balance. It happened with the invention of the automobile and more recently the internet, compounded now by artificial intelligence. These brought benefits along with a dark side, yet now we can’t live without either.
Sadly, the negative reaction to genetically modified plants can result in the baby-bathwater syndrome. A modified variety of rice called “Golden Rice” met opposition to its introduction. This was unfortunate as the aim was to produce rice with higher levels of vitamin A that would boost disease immunity and significantly reduce childhood blindness caused by a lack of the vitamin.
In a quickly changing world, plus the challenges of climate change, it’s very likely there will be more genetically modified plant introductions, some beneficial and others less so. There are sure to be benefits to genetic modification, and potential dangers. We’ll have to deal with them but the barn door is open now .
Will I grow “The Purple Tomato” — possibly. Would I eat it if it appeared in our grocery store? I’d have no qualms. See more at norfolkhealthyproduce.com.