My firm opinion is that the plant scientists and geneticists are good people that are not intending to ever make anything that will be harmful to people. They're doing it to either develop a better product eg. higher nutrient tomato, or to make a plant that actually produces more food.

What's really bad for people is starvation. There are fewer and fewer farmers able to grow food and make a living so better production, disease resistance, sturdier plants and fruits with higher nutrient value are all beneficial to the world. Farmers can grow more and better produce on the same amount of land and harvest a crop more dependably, too.

From what I've read, most of the fear of GMO products is based on unsubstantiated rumors. The fruits, grains and vegetables of GMO plants have been tested repeatedly over many years and found to be safe and good.

The one misguided mistake they made was developing herbicide-resistant corn and wheat varieties so the farmers could spray their fields with herbicide and still grow their crops. Even then, it wasn't the corn and wheat that was harmful it was the potential herbicide contamination that could have been a danger to people.

So, sorry Anne, I'm going to be in your bad books because I'd for sure grow that purple tomato if I get the chance. How can we know that it wasn't blueberry DNA that got mixed up into a tomato seed by a bee or a bird, and produced the first purple, black or indigo tomatoes. Mother Nature makes genetic modifications in so many ways, but it takes her a lot longer. To embrace this black tomato but reject that purple one makes no sense to me.

dyzzypyxxy said: My firm opinion is that the plant scientists and geneticists are good people that are not intending to ever make anything that will be harmful to people. They're doing it to either develop a better product eg. higher nutrient tomato, or to make a plant that actually produces more food.

What's really bad for people is starvation. There are fewer and fewer farmers able to grow food and make a living so better production, disease resistance, sturdier plants and fruits with higher nutrient value are all beneficial to the world. Farmers can grow more and better produce on the same amount of land and harvest a crop more dependably, too.

From what I've read, most of the fear of GMO products is based on unsubstantiated rumors. The fruits, grains and vegetables of GMO plants have been tested repeatedly over many years and found to be safe and good.

The one misguided mistake they made was developing herbicide-resistant corn and wheat varieties so the farmers could spray their fields with herbicide and still grow their crops. Even then, it wasn't the corn and wheat that was harmful it was the potential herbicide contamination that could have been a danger to people.

So, sorry Anne, I'm going to be in your bad books because I'd for sure grow that purple tomato if I get the chance. How can we know that it wasn't blueberry DNA that got mixed up into a tomato seed by a bird, and produced the first purple, black or indigo tomatoes. Mother Nature makes genetic modifications in so many ways, but it takes her a lot longer. To embrace this black tomato but reject that purple one makes no sense to me.

I AM DOWN WITH THAT! OK, that is slang meaning I completely agree.

I'm unabashedly pro-GMO!
Given my gardening experience I have for years been rallying the masses demanding science use GMO technology to develop slugs whose obligatory diet consist of brambles and field bindweed.

Don't have a firm stance on GMOs, but the present rush to patent not just plant varieties, but characteristics does worry me. Huge corporations have been filing lawsuits on this basis.

Meanwhile, the tomato plants are doing okay in the winter greenhouse.


The vertical jungle has lots of medium and small fruit. More pruning to do.


Nothing better than a fresh-picked midwinter tomato.

The problem is discovering how to tell a purple tomato is ripe - Other than by squishing it to death. I hear the flavor is the same as the red ones. Not sure how advertising it as more healthy than a simple tomato is going to go over.

dyzzypyxxy said:
So, sorry Anne, I'm going to be in your bad books because I'd for sure grow that purple tomato if I get the chance.

I'm sorry to hear that. 💔 I hope you'll reconsider and choose a purple or black tomato that isn't infected with organisms that aren't meant to be in a tomato, or your body. Black Beauty for example. Black Sea Man. True Black Brandywine.

Anne, the GMO tomatoes are not "infected with organisms."

A few months ago, for one of my science assignments, I read a scientific essay covering GMO crops. Both sides raise reasonable and valid points. For instance, it's true that we have no idea what the possible consequences of GMO crops are, so we must be careful; they are more efficient in supporting a growing global population, especially in less-developed countries, but are they healthy/safe to consume? We have yet to see; it may prove to be a risk we'll have to take.

On the other hand, many farmers have benefited from GMO crops because they are much more efficient cost-wise and growth-wise. They can cut labor and time significantly, sometimes as much as 50%. There are GMO crops which grow even during drought conditions, which is incredibly helpful.

It's a hard subject, in my opinion. I did get an A on my written response, but I'm not going to post the whole thing here, lol.

I think there are as many folks who WILL try a new 'more healthy' GMO tomato, as will NOT try a new GMO tomato no matter what supposed health benefits.

As far as telling if it is ripe, I had that challenge with Black Cherry, and I fear that with 'green when ripe' kinds.

Johannian, I for one would love to read your entire report!

Really not that difficult to determine "ripe" with the green when ripe tomatoes; it's kind of like judging whether you've watered enough by the weight of the pot.

Weedwhacker said:

Really not that difficult to determine "ripe" with the green when ripe tomatoes; it's kind of like judging whether you've watered enough by the weight of the pot.

Then purple tomatoes should be similar

Weedwhacker said: Johannian, I for one would love to read your entire report!

Ok, if I can find it! I'm horrible with organizing my school stuff. My mom keeps telling me I need to get better with that…

Johannian said: Ok, if I can find it! I'm horrible with organizing my school stuff. My mom keeps telling me I need to get better with that…

I am surprised, but everyone has flaws lol

Ok, I'm exaggerating a bit; on my computer, I'm way better with organizing things, because it's much easier. Call me lazy. 😂

Elaine, I completely agree with you re. GMO. Starvation is bad for people. Non-natural genetics doesn't automatically mean food that's bad for you, and often it can mean increased nutritional value (like with blue tomatoes or orange cauliflower).

As Elaine said, there are valid objections to "roundup-ready" grains, from encouraging widespread use of roundup (often without proper protective gear) to having fields where nothing else grows but the intended crop, which can have consequences for bees and other wildlife. It's not the safety of the crop that's at stake, as far as I know, but are other potential environmental and health concerns.

I gave up on green tomatoes because I can't tell if they're ripe. Black/purple tomatoes seem easier, or maybe I've just gotten to know them better. Even bicolor tomatoes can be tricky... I didn't much care for 'Jaune Flamme' or 'Mr. Stripey' until I learned I was eating them before they were ripe. (When ripe, they have a lot more red on them, especially at the bottom.)

My only concern with GMOs, is the use of "Roundup-Ready crops is the use of Roundup (glyphosate) and ingesting glyphosate when eating corn. When shopping in the market, is there any guarantee that glyphosate is not on the produce? It has been proven to be harmful to humans.

Here's an excerpt that addresses that
The USDA now requires food sellers to label their GMO products to help you identify them. The label might say "bioengineered (BE)" or "contains a bioengineered food ingredient." But if they're labeled "certified organic," the USDA says they can't contain any GMOs.

from this informative article
https://healthy.kaiserpermanen....

Although it seems a little confusing when it lists the many possible GMO foods that might be contained as ingredients, such as sugar from sugar beets. I don't buy many processed foods so I'm curious how they're labeled. I'll start looking. Before this article, I would never have known what "BE" stands for, or to look for it

As for fresh produce @evelyninthegarden , should we assume that the price card on the produce bin would say if it's GMO? Pretty certain my usual grocery stores don't sell GMO produce but I'll ask next time I'm shopping.

Glyphosate is applied to leaves to kill weeds, so corn would be protected by the husk from contamination by it's application. The fields are also sprayed while the corn plants are young, before the cobs start to form.

I think the glyphosate risk that has been proven was to people who were applying it often, without protective clothing. Hats, glasses, a mask, gloves, long-sleeved shirts and long pants are recommended on the label. Breathing it in and getting it on your skin is the way most people are affected, not by ingesting it in food.

As far as what I've read, there's no indication of glyphosate-related cancers from eating contaminated foods. It is absorbed by the plant's leaves, kills the plant and is rendered inert or used up by the time it reaches the soil. Here's a detailed paper on glyphosate contamination, scroll way down to section 10 to see the "Occurrence in Food" section. It seems to be very low to almost nothing in most tests. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/p...

I'm 72 pretty soon, and have been eating corn from the grocery store all my life. No signs of any cancers so far. I don't go out of my way to buy organic produce, and absolutely abhor the "Non-GMO" labels on so many foods as most of them would not have any possibility of containing anything genetically modified anyway. This is blatant fear-mongering, in my opinion.

Fear is a powerful marketing tool. Food retailers and producers use it to make you afraid of certain foods so you'll pay twice as much for lower quality stuff that is labeled "organic" or "non-GMO" neither of which are well regulated. The only food you can depend on to actually be organically grown is food you grow yourself, and unless you're a chemist with a lab at hand, you still don't know what's in the soil, or falling on your crops in the raindrops, as they collect air pollution.

GMO crops may (do) reduce pesticide use. Other GMO crops and use of herbicides has other benefits
https://www.fda.gov/food/agric...
Just adding info. Not trying to stoke any debate.

Glyphosate is bred into the seed now so the plants do not have to be sprayed. A friend who farms 2000 acres of grain says the bees are transferring the genetic material from RU ready crops to neighboring untreated crops making it difficult to claim a crop is not RU ready.