Flavr Savr Tomato
By: Sohan Rathod
The Creation of the Flavr Savr Tomato
The 'Flavr Savr' tomato is a genetically modified tomato. It was created by
Calgene Inc. It was made to be even tastier, firmer, and fresher in comparison to a regular tomato. It was genetically modified in the year of 1994 and was from then on pronounced the first ever genetically modified organism (GMO), and started the new trend. Source: http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/economy-business/agriculture/genetically-modified-food-a-growing-debate/the-flavr-savr-tomato.html
The Beginning of Genetic Modifications
This is what a flavr savr tomato looks like. As you can see, it does not look very different from a regular tomato. This is because only its genotypes were modified, its pheotypes are exactly the same as before, so it looks just like a regular tomato.
How It Is Made
The flavr savr tomato was made by adding antisense genes which obstruct the production of enzyme polygalacturonase. This enzyme degrades pectin in the cell walls and results in the softening of fruit which makes them more susceptible to being damaged by fungal infections, which helps with the tomato. They are also made so that the ripening process to keep from softening, by the procedures listed above. Even with this process, the tomato is still able to retain its natural flavors and colors. Since it does not ripen as fast as a normal tomato, it has more flavor than a regular tomato. Source: http://www.redorbit.com/education/reference_library/science_1/genetically_modified_organisms/1112965696/flavr-savr/
Why was It Made?
The flavr savr tomato was made to test if scientific engineers can slow down the ripening process of the tomato. It was made to see if they were able to create a tomato that took much longer to ripen, thus preventing it to soften. With this, the tomato would be able to retain more flavor than a regular tomato. It would also be able to keep its shape, and colors, and a bonus, more flavor! Source: http://www.redorbit.com/education/reference_library/science_1/genetically_modified_organisms/1112965696/flavr-savr/
Advantages
Some advantages of the flavr savr tomato would be saving money. If you buy a regular tomato, and do not use it for a little while, it ripens, thus making it soft, and loses all its flavor. So you would throw it out and buy new ones from a supermarket. With the flavr savr tomato, it does not take as long to ripen, so if you were to not use it for a while, it would not change a thing, it would stay the same and you wouldn't throw it out and go out to buy new ones. This tomato is also good for more flavor. Regular tomatoes have great flavor, but nowhere near as much as a flavr savr tomato, hence the name. It would make a fine addition to a dish, or even for restaurants. This would be great for anyone and everyone. Source: http://www.public.iastate.edu/~rhetoric/105H16/cofp/tmrcofp.html
Disadvantages
Some disadvantages of the flavr savr toamto would be that the nutritional value of the tomato was dominated when the genes were modified. It did not have the same nutritional value as a regular tomato. With this, children and adults do not get their daily nutritional value that they need from this tomato. Also, this tomato was said to have affects on rats when they were used to test the tomato. Some rats experienced things such as stomach lesions. This was never recorded to have the same affects on humans, but its better to be safe than sorry. Source: http://theenvirogirlsgmtomatoes.blogspot.ca/2011/02/lets-ofcourse-start-with-good-things.html
Summary
My opinion on the flavr savr tomato is that I believe we should not mess around with the genetics of naturally grown vegetables or even fruits. This is because nothing is guaranteed, so whether its the flavr savr tomato, or any other genetically modified organisms, it is not guaranteed that they will be safe, environmental friendly, or even safe for the human body to consume. We should let it be and not mess with the great blessings that mother nature has gifted us with. We should let them stay the way they are, natural, and keep them that way, because who knows, these genetically modified organisms can be the cause of one's death.