HYBRID FOODS

DEFINITION

ž  Hybrid food is the result of cross-breeding plants under controlled pollination.

ž  The hybrid seed will produce a plant with characteristics from both plants that were crossed.

ž  The purpose of cross-breeding is to produce a plant with desirable characteristics such as higher productivity, resistance to insects or improved nutrition.

ž   Hybrid foods are often referred to as genetically modified foods. More than half of all processed grocery products contain ingredients that have been altered by genetic modification, according to the 2002 documentary "Hybrid."

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

Advantages-

ž  Protection from diseases and pests

ž  Higher yield

ž  Larger size of fruits and vegetables

ž  Shorter plant sizes

ž  Faster growth and yield time

Disadvantages-

ž  Likely to be less nutritious

ž  Taste differs, can be inferior than the original

ž  May require more water for irrigation

¨  Evolution of Hybrid Corn

ž  In the 1930s, new hybrids of corn were produced to make the crop easier to grow and more resistant to insects.

ž  Milford Beeghly, the creator of this new hybrid, received much grief from farmers for altering nature.

ž  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, recognizes hybrid corn as genetically engineered food.

¨  Evolution of Hybrid Rice

ž  It was not until 1974 that the first hybrid rice seed was developed.

ž  Fields using hybrid rice yield 15 to 20 percent more rice.

ž  Aside from the labor of growing rice, the hybrid seed requires 30 percent more hours of production compared to other varieties of rice seeds.

ž  This increase in production of the hybrid seeds has helped local rice communities by creating jobs and increasing farmers' incomes.

¨  Evolution of Grapefruit

ž  Grapefruits are sold in three different varieties at the store: red, pink and yellow/white.

ž  Oranges and pummelos are crossed to make grapefruits. If you are familiar with a Chinese grapefruit, it is not actually a grapefruit at all.

ž  The Chinese grapefruit is a pummelo, the largest citrus fruit.

¨  Evolution of Common Hybrid Vegetables and Fruits

ž  In addition to corn and grapefruit, several other vegetables and fruits sold at the grocery store are a result of hybridization.

ž  Carrots, summer squashes, melons and cucumbers are the more common hybrid fruits and vegetables individuals consume.

ž  Tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage and Brussels sprouts are other vegetables you may be able to find in hybrid form.

ž  Most hybrid crops are grown in separate fields from natural crops that could cross-pollinate with them.

GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS

ž  GMF, GM foods or genetically engineered foods, are foods produced from organisms that have had changes introduced into their DNA using the methods of genetic engineering as opposed to traditional cross breeding.

ž  According to the World Health Organization, "Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) can be defined as organisms (i.e. plants, animals or microorganisms) in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination. The technology is often called 'modern biotechnology' or 'gene technology‘.

HYBRID FOODS VS GMOS

ž  Hybrid foods are foods which will not grow in Nature.

ž  They are foods which must be nurtured and protected by humans or else they will be overcome by birds, insects, worms, fungi, and bacteria.

ž  Some common hybrid fruits are: seedless apples, bananas, several date varieties like medjools, kiwis, seedless pineapples, seedless citrus fruit, seedless grapes, seedless persimmons, seedless watermelons.

ž  Common hybrid vegetables include: beets, carrots, corn, and potatoes.

ž  Common hybrid nuts and seeds include: cashews, oats, rice, and wheat. Brown, white, and "wild" rice are hybrids.

ž  Commercial "soft" wheat is a hybrid. Alfalfa sprouts and most commercially available legumes are hybrids.

ž  Genetically modified foods or GM foods, also known as genetically engineered foods or bioengineered foods, are foods produced from organisms that have had changes introduced into their DNA using the methods of genetic engineering.

ž  Genetic engineering techniques allow for the introduction of new traits as well as greater control over traits than previous methods such as selective breeding and mutation breeding.

ž  Some GMO items include corn, soy, sugar, papayas, canola, cotton, dairy, zucchini and yellow squash.

Two Distinct Techniques

ž  While hybrid crops come from two similar parent plants -- such as two tomato strains -- and are bred with low-tech methods

ž  Genetically modified crops are created in labs by splicing genes from unrelated species; for example, a GM tomato may contain salmon genes.

ž  Hybrid crops may be bred for flavor and hardiness.

ž  While GM crops are often bred for resistance to pests or drought, farmers have practiced hybrid techniques since the beginning of the agriculture era, and modern methods were developed in the mid-19th century.

Hybrids and Nutrition

ž  Because hybrid vegetables are often selected for sweetness, they tend to be higher in sugar and lower in nutrients than non-hybrid crops.

ž  For example, the pale, sweet corn you're most familiar with has more sugar and less beta carotene -- which your body converts to vitamin A -- than the deep-yellow corn of years past.

ž  In general, hybrid practices have significantly reduced levels of phytonutrients -- plant nutrients -- in conventionally grown fruits and vegetables.

Examples of hybrid foods

ž  NECTAPLUM

        A nectaplum is a tradename for varieties that are a hybrid of nectarines and plums developed by Floyd Zaiger. Both nectarine and plum traits are easily detectable. It sprouts from an ornamental tree which makes it popular for home gardening, but is not large in the commercial market. The fruit's exterior has smooth skin closely resembling a nectarine. Nectaplums are noted for their sweetness and their intense flavor.

ž  PEACOTUM

     A peacotum is a peach/apricot/plum hybrid developed by Zaiger's Genetics, Inc., a company that develops novel fruit through hybridization.Peacotum is trademarked by Dave Wilson Nursery Inc. An application to trademark the name nectacotum in the United States for varieties derived from nectarine-type peaches was made in 2004 but later abandoned.

ž  PINEBERRY

        Pineberry is based on the original strawberry hybrids that arose in cultivation in Europe, with recent selective breeding to improve the plants. It is a hybrid of Fragaria chiloensis, originating in South America, and Fragaria virginiana, originating in North America.

      A pineberry is smaller than a common strawberry, measuring between 15 to 23 mm (0.6 to 0.9 in). When ripe, it is almost completely white, but with red "seeds" (achenes). The plant is disease resistant, but is highly priced, although not very profitable due to small-scale farming, small berry size and low yield. Pineberries are available in the spring and summer.

ž  ORANGEQUAT

      The Nippon orangequat is a cross between a Satsuma mandarin and a Meiwa kumquat, hybridized by Dr. Eugene May of the USDA and introduced in 1932. 'Nippon' is the only named cultivar in existence. This is a small, round, orange fruit, which is larger than a kumquat. The fruit ranges from 2–4 cm in circumference. Orangequats can be eaten whole, including rind, but they have a very bitter and sour taste and most contain seeds. These trees can be seen with fruits on them through many of the colder months, since that is the season for orangequat growing. The orangequat also has not be bred to be seedless or sweet, this fruit is very tart, like a lemon, and has a fair amount of slightly large seeds inside.

ž  JOSTABERRY

      Jostaberry is a cross between a gooseberry and a blackcurrant for a good reason. Both species are part of the jostaberry cultivar, RibesXnidigrolaria. Though many people enjoy the jostaberry's taste, in the 36 years since its development no one has been able to successfully harvest the fruits on a commercial scale

ž  RABBAGE

     The rabbage (or Brassicoraphanus) is a crossed cabbage and radish, and was developed successfully to self-propagate by a Soviet agronomist named Georgi Dmitrievich Karpechenko in the 1910s and '20s. It has fallen out of fashion, though, because the hybrid wasn't quite as well-integrated as consumers would like.

ž  TAYBERRY

     The British summer season of blackberry and raspberry picking is a popular time, and in 1979 growers found a way to combine both fruits into the tayberry. The berry is difficult to pick industrially, however, so has never been incorporated into commercial farming crops. The British summer season of blackberry and raspberry picking is a popular time, and in 1979 growers found a way to combine both fruits into the tayberry. The berry is difficult to pick industrially, however, so has never been incorporated into commercial farming crops.

ž  BLOOD LIME

     Blood oranges already exist, but other "bloody" citrus fruits do not. Eating a plain lime may be too sour for the ordinary person without also having a Synsepalum dulcificum miracle fruit to dull the bitterness. But blood limes are sweeter than ordinary ones, having incorporated the Ellendale Mandarin with a red finger lime.

CONCLUSION

To conclude, hybrid foods have a lot to offer in terms of advantages. Their  harvests are bigger and generally give more plants per seed pack. They’re more pest and disease resistant plants. They have unique properties and uses and uniform harvest times and yields.

       Despite of all the pros of hybrid foods, we  need to be aware of the state of optimal health and wellbeing. Nothing we eat or could eat is safe or spared from possibly containing genetically engineered ingredients.

       Eating hybrid foods may cause defects and imbalances within the human body. Because the molecules of hybrid plants are altered, it stands to reason that the molecules of the human makeup also become altered and this altering manifests in human behavior, actions, and thoughts in the form of defective or faulty behavior, actions, and thoughts. After all, you are what you eat.