DailyDirt: Super Foods... To The Rescue

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Fri, Dec 2nd 2011 5:00pm — Michael Ho

While there are a lot of debates going around about the wisdom of genetically modified organisms, a bunch of food scientists are working with edible concoctions that aren't GMOs. Traditional breeding of naturally-occurring varieties of fruits and vegetables can still produce some pretty amazing results. And ultimately, consumers are voting with their purchases -- which is creating all kinds of food innovations. Here are just a few examples.

This is a fascinating video on some of the latest in apple breeding -- "apples of the future" are on the way! There are apples that don't brown after their cut, apples that have as much vitamin C as oranges, apple trees that have no branches without pruning, etc. [url]
The pork technology behind McDonald's McRib was originally meant to create a faux pork chop. Instead, McDonald's created a "restructured meat" that took the form of a boneless backrib. [url]
Super broccoli is a variety of this vegetable that could reduce cholesterol -- without any genetic modification. Other super vegetables could have enhanced levels of vitamin D, calcium or omega-3 fatty acids. [url]
To discover more food-related links, check out what's floating around in StumbleUpon. [url]

By the way, StumbleUpon can also recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

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Filed Under: apples, broccoli, food, gmo, innovation, pork, traditional breeding, vitamins
Companies: cornell, mcdonalds

7 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 2 Dec 2011 @ 6:34pm

never thought apple breeding could be so interesting...
apples that don't brown after you cut them open?!?! black magic, I say!
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Tom Landry (profile), 2 Dec 2011 @ 7:53pm

Re: McRib. Encore foods (catering to feed the lower-middle working class since who knows when) makes an entree that is exactly what Mac's sells.....fake "grill" marks and all. Its sits in a pool of decent BBQ sauce. 6 "rib" sections per package. So if you want something that is probably made from the most disgusting things imaginable yet you still love the tasty goodness of this miraculous meat product, you don't have to wait for Mac's seasonal offering. McRib's year 'round for ALL!
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- Michael Ho (profile), 2 Dec 2011 @ 11:19pm
  
  Re:
  If the McRib gets really popular, I fully expect there to be frozen McRib knockoffs in supermarkets taking up entire rows of shelves -- just like there are chicken nugget knockoffs everywhere...
  
  "Pork nuggets" doesn't sound very appetizing... but I'm sure there will be a beef version, too. yum!
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  - Tom Landry (profile), 3 Dec 2011 @ 6:01pm
    
    Re: Re:
    I've no problem with 'reconfigured" meat just as long as they keep the cartilage chunks out of it.
    
    Nothing as disgusting as biting into a chicken patty and finding a white plastic-like nugget.
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anonymous disenfranchised Dutch coward, 3 Dec 2011 @ 1:08am

broccoli
wasn't that the broccoli that was unpatentable because of the simple cross breeding method used? thought i read that story here too.
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- Michael Ho (profile), 5 Dec 2011 @ 12:21pm
  
  Re: broccoli
  If you're talking about this artcle:
  http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111125/09052516897/coming-to-plates-europe-patented-vege tables-produced-conventional-breeding.shtml
  
  It looks like naturally-bred broccoli could get patent protection, even though the rules aren't supposed to allow for that.
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Edward Teach, 3 Dec 2011 @ 7:28am

"restructured meat"
Arrr, matey, I could not help but grin wolfishly when mine eyes beheld the term "restructured meat". What manner of corporate milksop bethought of such a heathen term? Shiver me sides, "restructured meat" could be either a replacement for mine peg-leg, or the title of a mediocre "Mexican Bible" from days of yore!
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