Written by Kevin Folta

We are currently witnessing the USDA public commentary period on the Arctic Apple, a transgenic apple that does not exhibit browning upon injury or cutting. The anti-browning trait was installed by scientists at Okanagan Specialty Fruits. A copy of the apple gene for polyphenol oxidase (PPO) was overexpressed, which triggers a plant response to silence the over-expressed gene.  The same process also suppresses the apple’s endogenous PPO genes. Without this protein, the apple flesh will not brown when you cut it.
After a decade of assessment and testing for over a decade, the trees are poised for widespread adoption. But like clockwork, the critics have now emerged against this non-browning apple. They say that the apples are untested in humans, that the pollen will contaminate other plants.  They say that it is unnatural and will need more pesticide.  There is a feeling of reaching for any excuse to be anti-Arctic Apple.
The same criticisms were strangely silent against a parallel genetic alteration in grape. A genetic alteration damaged the normal expression  of the PPO gene in the ‘Sultana’ grape, a genetic change that was unknown, uncharacterized and un-investigated. All the scientists knew is that the grape didn’t brown. The resulting grape exhibited the same anti-browning properties as the current Arctic Apple, and gained rapid favor for the production of light-colored raisins and low-oxidation wines. Unlabeled and untested, this genetic aberration spread quickly throughout the dried-grape industry, as consumers and farmers realized great gains from the sweet, white and golden raisins.
Continue reading “The Genetically Altered “Arctic Grape” Escapes Public Approval” →