How farmers and scientists strive for more flavour

Science & Technology Health & Diet
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By manipulating genes scientists say they can create better-tasting produce, but is it necessary?

“Flavour is a re-emerging trend, without a doubt,” says Franco Fubini, founder of fruit and vegetable supplier Natoora.

You might be surprised that flavour ever went out of fashion.

But finding truly tasty fruit and vegetable varieties can be difficult, largely due to the requirements of supermarkets, he says.

"They started demanding that varieties have a longer shelf life, so for example in the case of a tomato, it has a thicker skin, so the skins don’t split more easily; a tomato that perhaps ripens faster, that can absorb more water.

“So over time you breed your varieties for attributes other than flavour. The flavour attribute starts falling in importance, and as nature has it, if you breed for other traits you breed out flavour.”

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And this is part of the reason why tomato skins are so hard for humans to digest!

This is the problem - there needs to a principle higher than that of making money - especially when it comes to food production! :face_with_symbols_over_mouth:

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I’m personally of the opinion of local community growing things to supply fruits and veggies (at least start with veggies), could be automated, make it’s own electricity, as fully self sustaining as is possible!

Such dedicated large areas would work in my area, though not big cities. For big cities start by using the tops of buildings!

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…and instead of planting fancy flowers councils should plant fruit trees for people to pick freely for their own personal use :upside_down_face: I think we had a discussion about it previously and @NobbZ said they do that in Germany - wish they would do it here.

We have some wild strawberries and blackberries (and an apple tree) round here and I often help myself… not because it’s free… but because it’s 100% wild/organic - much better than the rubbish they sell in supermarkets!! :smiley:

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Very much! I don’t grow grass in my yard, it’s just veggies and a mini blackberry bush.

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You should post pics :sunglasses: I’d love to grow my own food, in fact there used to be a vegetable patch at the end of my garden - maybe I will revive it one day! :joy:

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