Genetic Engineering of Flavor and Shelf Life in Fruits and Vegetables

shipped long distances and supply was dependent on local production areas. Demand for year-round, inexpensive produce has led to consolidation of production where temperatures are warm, sunshine is plentiful, and labor is cheap. In most cases, produce is now shipped long distances before being consumed. Tomatoes grown in Mexico are trucked 3,500 miles, bananas grown in Ecuador travel 6,000 miles on a boat, bell peppers from Holland greenhouses are flown 5,000 miles to market. Unfortunately, fruit was not designed to be shipped long distances. In order to make it to market, fruit is picked before it is ripe (and before it has any taste). Despite harvesting immature fruits, post-harvest losses of fruits and vegetables still exceed 25 percent of crop production and the fruit that makes it to market has often been described as tasteless.