A researcher at Purdue University has discovered a way to
lengthen the shelf life of tomatoes and possibly all fruits/vegetables with an organic compound called
Spermidine.
Spermidine is found in all cells to some degree, it helps in reducing aging of human immune cells and fruit flies among other organisms. This researcher took the gene from yeast which codes for
spermidine synthase and inserted it into tomatoes, this increased the tomatoes production of
spermidine. When the tomatoes were grown and harvested they were compared to non-transgenic tomatoes and it was found the genetically modified tomatoes lasted about 8 days longer before signs of shriveling would set it. This could dramatically decrease the amount of fruits/vegetables that never make it to the dinner table due to spoilage before purchase.
Although I find the science behind it exciting I do worry about consuming these GM tomatoes. I hope research is being done to see the effects of consuming the levels of
spermidine found in the plant. It is very interesting that these scientists can make the tomatoes stay fresh longer but I'd rather just buy and consume them quicker!
As long as the safety of these tomatoes can be verified, they would probably greatly reduce the numbers of fruits/vegetables that end up in the garbage each year, preventing food going to waste and maybe even feeding more people
ReplyDeleteEven though genetically modified food sounds good because it can reduce waste but at what cost. No one knows what could happen if some one ate these tomatoes for a long time. How do we know that genetically modified tomatoes won't affect our bodies as we get older. Is this really a good idea in the long run.
ReplyDeleteEconomically sound, spermadine does support its weight as a possible increaser of the shelf life of vegetables. As someone who works at a grocery store most vegetables get thrown out from going rotten and not being bought. Customers tend to passby or even return slightly bruised vegetables and fruit. Lets face it looks are very important when it comes to eating healthy. Not only would spermadine help cut the costs of loss in stores it would also promote better sales just due to the increased ascetic value of the vegetable itself.
ReplyDeleteThe link to the outside source on spermadine in the featured article also has some valuable information about other effects. Though scientifically it is sound for prolonging the shelf life, prolonging the aging of yeast, flies and worms are just other qualities of this treatment. Most importantly it is also found to reduce human immune cells by inducing autophagy. Autophagy was said to “be a tightly-regulated process that plays a normal part in cell growth, development, and homeostasis, helping to maintain a balance between the synthesis, degradation, and subsequent recycling of cellular products. It is a major mechanism by which a starving cell reallocates nutrients from unnecessary processes to more-essential processes.” Is the possibility of this outside effect of spermadine worth a few economic advances and some better looking veggies?