About the GMO Peach
Welcome to the main focus of the website. Our goal, here at GMO Peaches, is to create a new type a peach that will change the industry of fruit forever. If you haven't read our Background page or our Genetic Engineering page, we recommend that you do so before reading this page. Don't you know how peaches have that soft peel, or skin if you will? Because of that soft peel, peaches bruise very easily. No one wants to eat a disgusting bruised peach. Most bruising happens in the package delivery, so not only are grocery stores unable to sell this bruised peach, but the farmers who sold it to the grocery stores don't make any money either. That's where GMO Peaches stepped in. We wanted to do something that would prevent peaches from bruising. We decided that peaches wouldn't bruise as easily if we made it into a GMO. At first we thought to give it the trait of "bruise-resistance" but that's impossible. Then we realized that the reason peaches get bruised is because of the soft, fragile peel. That's when we decided to make the peel harder. What better fruit to use than an apple? Apples have hard, firm peels that will protect the fruit inside, and they're a beloved fruit worldwide, so no one would have a problem eating something with the trait of an apple. This was possible, so we got to work. The GMO Peach was on its way!
The Process
We had already decided that we would use the apple as a source of the hard-peel gene. Next, all we had to do was find that gene. Once we found it, the rest was simple. All we had to do was extract that gene from the apple and insert it into the peach. We took the necessary tools to insert the gene and put it into the nucleus of the cells. The nucleus is where the chromosomes are located, and the DNA is located in the chromosomes. After that, the work is done, the peach will soon adapt to its new genes and develop a harder, more durable, peel. This will benefit everyone!
Benefits & Risks
Benefits:
There are many benefits to making a peach have a harder peel. For starters, as stated before, they wouldn't bruise as easily. Since bruising causes faster rotting, not as many peaches will be bruised and this will make farmers, grocery stores, and consumers a lot happier. Another benefit is protecting against bacteria. Because of the soft peel, it makes it slightly easier for bacteria to slip into the fruit. If the peel hardens, then fewer bacteria will be able to actually get inside the fruit. Another benefit is when you try to bring a delicious peach to lunch, and when you open up your lunch box, the peach is in ruins. It looks like it exploded. Another benefit is expanding this to other foods. If this peach thing works, then we can expand the hard-peel GMO idea to other soft-peel foods, like pears. As you can see, there are many reasons why you and many others should help support the Genetically Modified Peach.
Risks:
There are a few risks in making this GMO, which could set us back. Number one is the new skin/peel texture. Since the peels would become harder, this could possibly become a choking hazard. The peach would also be harder to peel and cut. These are only some minor setbacks, which could be easily overcome with some respective work. Overall, there are not too many risks to be worried about here.
There are many benefits to making a peach have a harder peel. For starters, as stated before, they wouldn't bruise as easily. Since bruising causes faster rotting, not as many peaches will be bruised and this will make farmers, grocery stores, and consumers a lot happier. Another benefit is protecting against bacteria. Because of the soft peel, it makes it slightly easier for bacteria to slip into the fruit. If the peel hardens, then fewer bacteria will be able to actually get inside the fruit. Another benefit is when you try to bring a delicious peach to lunch, and when you open up your lunch box, the peach is in ruins. It looks like it exploded. Another benefit is expanding this to other foods. If this peach thing works, then we can expand the hard-peel GMO idea to other soft-peel foods, like pears. As you can see, there are many reasons why you and many others should help support the Genetically Modified Peach.
Risks:
There are a few risks in making this GMO, which could set us back. Number one is the new skin/peel texture. Since the peels would become harder, this could possibly become a choking hazard. The peach would also be harder to peel and cut. These are only some minor setbacks, which could be easily overcome with some respective work. Overall, there are not too many risks to be worried about here.
Stakeholder Positions & Ethical Considerations
There are many people and companies who might want to jump aboard the hard-peach-peel-train. I'll list a few.
Wegmans: Wegmans is the grocery store that sells the most peaches per year. That number would increase dramatically if a good 10% of them weren't bruised at the time of arrival. If less peaches were bruised, then they could sell more, therefore increasing their profit.
FFA: FFA stands for Future Farmers of America. It's an agricultural school that supports GMO's. If they got their students thinking about this, then the students would be motivated to use this GMO in their peaches and then save more peaches from getting bruised.
Disney: I believe that Disney would support this because of their movie, "James and the Giant Peach." It's not really a GMO based support, but it's almost free advertising for them. How could you pass that up?
Hillary Clinton: In an interview in San Diego, Hillary Clinton voiced support for GMO's. She is in the favor of genetically modified organisms, so she would love to support this GMO!
The 2012 Presidential Candidates: Both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney supported the idea of GMO's when running for president back in 2012. If only these two could get along...well now they can, if they both support GMO Peaches!
Wegmans: Wegmans is the grocery store that sells the most peaches per year. That number would increase dramatically if a good 10% of them weren't bruised at the time of arrival. If less peaches were bruised, then they could sell more, therefore increasing their profit.
FFA: FFA stands for Future Farmers of America. It's an agricultural school that supports GMO's. If they got their students thinking about this, then the students would be motivated to use this GMO in their peaches and then save more peaches from getting bruised.
Disney: I believe that Disney would support this because of their movie, "James and the Giant Peach." It's not really a GMO based support, but it's almost free advertising for them. How could you pass that up?
Hillary Clinton: In an interview in San Diego, Hillary Clinton voiced support for GMO's. She is in the favor of genetically modified organisms, so she would love to support this GMO!
The 2012 Presidential Candidates: Both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney supported the idea of GMO's when running for president back in 2012. If only these two could get along...well now they can, if they both support GMO Peaches!