It looks like the USDA is going to approve a Canadian company’s Golden Delicious and Granny Smith apple varieties that have been bred with an extra gene that shuts down the oxidation process. The result is apple slices that don’t turn brown after a few minutes, which in real life is only a concern for socialites who serve large amounts of fruit at dinner parties and tend to overuse the word “ghastly.” Advocates say the ever-bright slices will appeal more to children in prepackaged formats, like the ones found at fast-food restaurants, while opponents say the introduction of so-called Arctic apples will ruin livelihoods, and lives, when honeybees inevitably introduce GMO pollen into organic orchards. “This is an economic disaster,” an organic grower tells the Seattle Times. [Seattle Times via Discover]
