Member in the News: David Zilberman

What fruit and vegetables SHOULD look like: Researchers show how dramatically man has changed everything from the banana to the watermelon since our ancestors first ate them

By Stacy Liberatore For Dailymail.com

The fruit and veg that graces our plates today would have been unrecognisable to our ancestors, researchers have revealed.

A new series of pictures shows what everything from the watermelon to the banana originally looked like.

Farmers have been developing new ways to improve their crops since the birth of agriculture some 12,000 years ago, and technologies from selective breeding to genetically modifying plants has been used. 

Modern techniques genetically modifying crops involved transferring DNA, but our ancestors began altering their food through crossbredding or planting seeds at different times of the year. New research shows photographs of what some popular fruits and vegetables looked like before humans grew them for food

According to Bruce Chasey, executive associate director of the Biotechnology Center at the University of Illinois, we altered these plants so much that they developed into crops that would never survive in the wild without human care. 

During the 1980s genetic manipulation of foods started to take off when researchers discovered it was possible to transfer specific pieces of DNA from one organism to another.

But it wasn't until 1994 were these modified foods available to consumers.

Calgene, a biotech research firm in California, unveiled the first genetically engineered crop to the market that year, the Flavr Savr tomato, reported The New York Times.

WILD WATERMELOM VS. MODERN WATERMELON 

Wild watermelon (pictured).The painting which was created between 1645 and 1672, shows swirly shapes in the center that is marked off in six separate sections. Humans have designed watermelons to have the red, fleshy center

Modern watermelon (pictured). Researchers double the number of chromosomes in traditional melons by adding the chemical colchicine

A painting from the 17th-century artist, Giovanni Stanchi, displays a watermelon that no living person has ever seen.

The painting which was created between 1645 and 1672, shows swirly shapes in the center that is marked off in six separate sections, reported Vox 

Humans have designed watermelons to have the red, fleshy center, as seen in the photograph. 

And if you have ever had a seedless watermelon, you can be sure it was genetically modified.

Researchers double the number of chromosomes in traditional melons by adding the chemical colchicine.

FEARS ABOUT GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS 

One reason the public worries about genetically modified foods is that it can trigger an allergy in humans.

Some of the genes used during the process may have been taken from other foods that people are allergic to and they have no way of knowing about it.

Another issues is other organisms in the ecosystem could be harmed, which could be followed by a lower level of biodiversity.

Some genetically modified foods use bacteria and virus, so there is a fear a new disease will emerge. 

Our ancient ancestors 'built' crops into what they wanted – bigger, tastier and juicer, reported Medical Daily. 

'While GMOs may involve splicing genes from other organisms (such as bacteria) to give plants desired traits – like resistance to pest, selective breeding is a slower process whereby farmers select and grow crops,' said Tanya Lewisin Business Insider.  

Researchers were able to contain the gene that produces a protein that makes tomatoes squishy.

This tomato caused an enormous media stir. 'The tomato stays riper, longer than the nonengineered variety, and they say it's tastier,' Tom Brokaw told his nightly news viewers.

Company officials said every tomato they could get to market was sold.

WILD BANANA VS. MODERN BANANA  

Wild banana (pictured).The first bananas may have been cultivated some 7,000 years ago and as early as 10,000 in what is now Papua New Guinea and they have been found to grow in Asia. The ancient ancestor of the modern bananas is the Musa acuminate, a plant that had small okra looking pods

Modern banana (pictured). The ones we buy at the grocery story, may be full blown hybrids but are much tastier and have more nutrients than those our ancestors snacked on

The first bananas may have been cultivated some 7,000 years ago and as early as 10,000 in what is now Papua New Guinea and they have been found to grow in Asia, reported Smithsonian.com 

The ancient ancestor of the modern bananas is the Musa acuminate, a plant that had small okra looking pods.

This was eventually crossed with Musa balbisiana, which created plantains that eventually produced the bright yellow fruits we have today. 

The modern day banana has a long history of modification. 

The ones we buy at the grocery story, may be full blown hybrids but are much tastier and have more nutrients than those our ancestors snacked on.

But sales declined a few years later, when the firm was bought out by Monsanto, who eighty-sixed the Flavr Savr tomato.

In the Unites States 93 percent of soybeans and 88 percent of corn is genetically modified and most of it ends up in unlabeled processed food.

Certain foods, such as squash and papaya, have been altered to resist diseases. 

WILD EGGPLANT VS. MODERN EGGPLANT 

Wild Eggplant (pictured).In the past, these vegetables were be found in all different shapes and sizes such as white, azure, purple and yellow. And some of the earliest ones had spines in the area where they stem connects to the flower

Modern eggplant (pictured). Through crossbreading, the spikes are no long a part of the egg plant and it isn’t the orange like shape it once was

If you stumble upon the early ancestor of an eggplant, you probably won’t know what it is.

In the past, these vegetables were be found in all different shapes and sizes such as white, azure, purple and yellow.

And some of the earliest ones had spines in the area where they stem connects to the flower. 

Through crossbreading, the spikes are no long a part of the egg plant and it isn’t the orange like shape it once was.

Today it is the oblong purple vegetable you find in most grocery stores.

There hasn't been enough research to confirm the risks of GMOs, even though the FDA has labeled them as 'safe'.

Robert Goldberg, a plant molecular biologist at the University of California, told Scientific American, 'Frankenstein monsters, things crawling out of the lab.'

WILD CARROT VS. MODERN CARROT 

Wild carrot (pictured).Found in Persia and Asia Minor around the 10th century, they were purple or white root-like structures. Its seeds made their way as far as Europe about 5,000 years ago and it is still found today in temperate regions

Modern carrot (pictured).The modern carrot has also become an annual winter crop, compared to its ancestors that thrived in warmer climates

Wild carrots are unrecognizable today.

Found in Persia and Asia Minor around the 10th century, they were purple or white root-like structures.

Its seeds made their way as far as Europe about 5,000 years ago and it is still found today in temperate regions.

The orange-ish vegetable we know today was domesticate in the 1900s, which started as a golden ball and transformed into the long orange carrot today.

The modern carrot has also become an annual winter crop, compared to its ancestors that thrived in warmer climates. 

'This the most depressing thing I've ever dealt with.'

But David Zilberman, a U.C. Berkeley agricultural and environmental economist, believes the use of GM crops 'has lowered the price of food.'

'It has increased farmer safety by allowing them to use less pesticide,' Zilberman said.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3428689/What-fruit-vegetables-look-like-Researchers-banana-watermelon-changed-dramatically-ancestors-ate-them.html#ixzz3z78AGkxY