Tomato Makeover

Whenever I hear about genetic engineering, it always is referring to an animal or human and the ethics that revolve around it.

While this certainly makes for good fodder for cable news outlets and their talking heads, I wish more attention were paid to the genetic engineering being done with vegetables. Because unlike with humans and animals – where the ethics and good it does for society are intensely debated – there’s no debate that genetically-engineered vegetables and fruits makes healthy fruits even healthier.

The purple tomato is evidence of this. Yes, I said purple tomato. Using genes that excite the production of anthrocyanins in the snapdragon flower, scientists have engineered a new breed of tomato that has a significantly higher amount of anthrocyanins than the prototypical red tomato.

Remember, anthrocyanins are what give colorful fruits like chokeberries, blueberries, and tart cherries their bright, often brilliant shades of purple, blue and red. But these anthrocyanins do more than just supply their exterior with colors flattering to the eye. As I’ve mentioned in past articles, anthrocyanins are widely believed to be potent cancer fighters; they also prevent premature aging, diabetes and inflammation, just to cite a few of its other health-promoting properties (others include the promotion of eye health and avoidance of weight gain).

How they did it I have no idea, but scientists were able to harvest the anthrocyanin-promoting genes in snapdragon and use them in the engineering process of the purple tomato. Based on their testing of the anthrocyanin content of their newfangled tomato, there was more anthrocyanin activity happening within the peel and flesh of the tomato than any other tomato previous to this one that’s been genetically engineered.

Of course, this means little if it doesn’t have some health effect on those who consume it. So to gauge what health effects a “juiced-up” tomato has on its eaters, the scientists had cancer-susceptible rats consume diets high in either purple tomato or red tomato. Based on their findings, the purple tomato-eating rats’ life span was longer than the rats eating red tomatoes. More research needs to be done, and the researchers are hopeful the next study will involve people to see if similar health benefits will be found.

As the researchers themselves say, this is a significant finding, for nothing else other than the fact that it shows how the simple act of eating can be a preventive measure against disease. Sure, exercise and vitamin supplementation are others, but in a world where far too few are getting the adequate amounts of fruits and vegetables in their every day diet (five a day for vegetables, four a day for fruits), heightening the amounts of key nutrients like anthrocyanins in tomatoes is one step toward increasing natural health through quality as opposed to quantity.