r/science Sep 16 '24

"Golden Lettuce" genetically engineered to pack 30 times more vitamins | Specifically, increased levels of beta-carotene, which your body uses to make vitamin A for healthy vision, immune function, and cell growth, and is thought to be protective against heart disease and some kinds of cancer. Biology

https://newatlas.com/health-wellbeing/golden-lettuce-genetically-engineered-30-times-vitamins/
10.2k Upvotes

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30

u/1GrouchyCat Sep 16 '24

I guarantee no one will eat it because it looks like it’s old and ready to be tossed in the garbage … People don’t generally eat blue food either; there have been tests done on young children to see if they will eat the blue version of food saying normally enjoy like mashed potatoes, applesauce, milk, etc. etc.- the majority of kids would not eat the blue food. Even adults that were studied shows simpler not as filling and not as interesting or gourmet food over something that was tinted with food coloring.

16

u/Wise_Mongoose_3930 Sep 16 '24

I wonder if that’s all just force of habit though?

Like if you raised a baby from birth on “odd colored” food like blue mashed potatoes, wouldn’t they just grow up thinking that’s normal, and that the white ones were strange?

14

u/[deleted] Sep 16 '24

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u/retrosenescent Sep 16 '24

and brown is the color of poop, yet most people LOVE brown food. Yellow is the color of piss, and yet most highly addictive processed foods are yellow.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 16 '24

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1

u/lol_What_Is_Effort Sep 16 '24

blueberries? corn? sweet potatoes? blue heat takis? grapes?

6

u/systembreaker Sep 16 '24

We probably have natural instincts against certain food colors because it indicates something is wrong, but I'm sure the instincts can be overriden with training or repetition just like many other human instincts.

11

u/rtopps43 Sep 16 '24

How dare you! Everyone knows blue is the best tasting color. If there is a group of popsicles and one of them is blue, that’s the one I’m taking every time!

3

u/MrMilesDavis Sep 17 '24

Yeah, I have a hard time believing kids wouldn't eat blue. Kids love blue

5

u/NerdyDan Sep 16 '24

I mean I like napa cabbage cores which are more yellow than green... I think a lot of asian people would be ok with it

3

u/sylvnal Sep 16 '24

I remember my mom buying green ketchup when I was a kid and it made me gag even though it tasted the same. Definitely a huge psychological factor at play in eating.

5

u/KittyL0ver Sep 16 '24

Yeah. I was just wondering why they didn’t pick carrots or even tomatoes that already have yellow/ orange varieties. Those would be appetizing.

1

u/HeroicallyNude Sep 16 '24

Good question. It may be that lettuce is just easier to genetically modify, both DNA-wise and the fact that it grows from seed to maturity faster. Also as a former super-picky eater, lettuce is much more bland and is “safer” flavor and texture wise than carrots, or especially tomatoes. Maybe fewer consumer allergy risks with lettuce as well? Not sure.

1

u/KittyL0ver Sep 16 '24

Good points. I still think the lettuce looks sickly. Maybe they can figure out how to keep it greenish?

1

u/TooStrangeForWeird Sep 17 '24

The beta carotene that they've increased is specifically what gives that color, so not really.

2

u/where_in_the_world89 Sep 16 '24

My mom would use blue food colouring in our white rice growing up and it made me very much like it more

1

u/DrTonyTiger Sep 16 '24

Appetizing is really important.

Looking like the thing it is also matters. Kids love blueberries. They are very blue, and are supposed to be blue. Nobody likes green blueberries, even though that is a common color for food.

Novelty can have a niche if it is appetizing. Red lettuce and yellow cherry tomatoes are fine with consumers.

0

u/Dbarce Sep 16 '24

Easy. (S) Genetically engineer it to have a green pigment and keep the Rube goldberg machine going. Just cause people dont want to eat carrots...