AP: bad9b8a3-107d-406c-bda9-7ff5c5f220a1
As a Canadian biotech company asks the U.S. to approve a genetically modified apple that doesn't brown, many sides are weighing in on the danger or value of genetically modified produce. (AP Photo/Lee Reich)

Should US approve non-browning apple?

November 30, 2010 @ 8:42 am (Updated: 1:37 pm - 3/28/11 )

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By JAMIE GRISWOLD
MyNorthwest.com

As a Canadian biotech company asks the U.S. to approve a genetically modified apple that doesn't brown, many sides are weighing in on the danger or value of genetically modified produce.

"Genetically modified _ that's a bad word in our industry," Todd Fryhover, president of the apple commission in Washington state, which produces more than half the U.S. crop, told the Associated Press.

Alex Berezow, Editor of RealClearScience.com, says there is overwhelming evidence that genetically modified foods are safe. "If you had Thanksgiving dinner most likely half the stuff on your table was genetically modified. If you drink soy milk, those soybeans, most soybeans in this country are genetically modified. You put sweetener in your coffee? That comes from genetically modified crops. Turkeys and animals are often fed genetically modified feed. It's everywhere."

The USDA's biotechnology regulations are designed to ensure that genetically modified crops are just as safe for agriculture and the environment as traditionally bred crop varieties, spokesman R. Andre Bell said in a statement. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service works with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration, depending on the product, to ensure safety.

Fryhover raised concerns about cross-pollination of conventional trees with genetically modified ones if they were planted in close proximity.

Berezow told 770 KTTH's David Boze that the impact on the environment is a valid concern. "When you put a new gene into the gene pool you want to make sure you're not going to spread something nasty into the environment."

Listen to Alex Berezow on the David Boze Show

Okanagan Specialty Fruits of Summerland, British Columbia, licensed the non-browning technology from Australian researchers who pioneered it in potatoes. Essentially, the genes responsible for producing the enzyme that induces browning have been silenced in the apple variety being marketed as "Arctic."

"There's something about an apple. It's the symbol of health and nutrition, and then to turn around and say it's been genetically modified, doesn't that go against what consumers say they're looking for?" Fryhover asked. "Right now, I wouldn't say the industry is poised to go either direction. We need to know more."

Berezow says there's no evidence that genetically modified food is less healthy than other options. "The organic food industry is seeking money, and it's very profitable. And in my opinion, they're not basing their industry on solid science. There is so far really no evidence that organic food is any healthier than genetically modified food. It has the same nutrients in it."

The approval process can take years, and it's not clear the apples will be accepted even if they pass government inspection.

Everyone agreed that consumers will make the final call. They have largely accepted other genetically modified crops, but whether they will do the same with apples remains to be seen.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Comments (12)


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  • Sportfisher wrote...
    Too much time on their hands
    November 30, 2010 10:15 am
    A cut apple will brown if it sits on a plate too long. It wont give you the plague. Use the same knife you cut the crust off your wonder bread and slice off the brown part. Good god, in the old days, we had to check every slice of bread for mold and trim the block of cheese in the refrigerator. This is about as silly as trying to decide whether you would tap and untanned woman.
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  • riverock wrote...
    fools??
    November 30, 2010 10:34 am
    Isn't the browning (due to oxidation, I think) part of the digestion process? So will these apples of the future sit in our stomachs as indigestable junk???
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • messiah101 wrote...
    Sportfisher
    November 30, 2010 12:09 pm
    In case you have forgotten that mold you spoke of was a sign that no preservitives were in the bread are you telling me that you believe we as a nation are eating healthier because of the ability to preserve food to the point that it will not decompose?I saw a photo of a McDonalds hamburger and fries that was 6 months old and looked as fresh as the day it was ordered.You want it you can have it
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  • Mo Gaud wrote...
    Do it naturally
    November 30, 2010 12:19 pm
    or not at all. This stinks like Monsanto. Speaking of stinking, I saw the pictures of a Happy Meal after one year of purchase. It still looked as fresh(?) as the day it was made. Yum.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Country_Dog wrote...
    Yes
    November 30, 2010 12:55 pm
    And where is this burger you speak of? Its lunchtime!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Christopher Nyland wrote...
    Mush
    November 30, 2010 1:11 pm
    I don't care if it is brown. To me the question is it mushy?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Area 49 wrote...
    I think it's clearly racism and prejudice
    November 30, 2010 3:00 pm
    We all know good apples and some bad apples. This time they're taking it out on the Brown apples.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • roomtemp wrote...
    NO!
    November 30, 2010 3:28 pm
    This trend of 'patentable' foods must be stopped. These GMO foods are polluting real crops.

    If you can't cultivate it by rubbing its flowers together I don't want to eat it.

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  • Sportfisher wrote...
    Poor Messiah
    November 30, 2010 8:12 pm
    Where did I say the food is healthier now? To the contrary, I compared the current apples to foods that required even more maintenance and inspection. We were talking about enhanced apples, not Mickey D.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Edmund Fitzgerald wrote...
    wait...
    November 30, 2010 9:37 pm
    are they eliminating the browning jobs that U.S. apples won't do? i see institutional apple-racism; time for another study buy a panel; someone has to pay! get the McIntosh Diversity expert here at once!
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