The Purple Galaxy Tomato splashed across the cover of this season's Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds catalog: a closeup of a blackish-purple tomato speckled with tiny pink dots. Next to it, sits a sliced open fruit, revealing deep fuchsia seeds and flesh.
"This beauty is believed to be the first — and the purplest — non-GMO purple tomato in the universe!" read the catalog copy. Only problem? The seeds actually may have been a GMO variety, the recently released Purple Tomato, created using genes from a snapdragon flower by Norfolk Healthy Produce.
The mix-up has caused consternation for the heirloom seed company that prides itself on offering rare and organic varieties and takes a firm stance against GMO crops. And it's triggered debate about biodiversity and what can happen with GMO seeds when they begin to spread.
When news of a non-GMO purple-fleshed tomato variety first startedcirculating on social media last fall, some scientists and tomato enthusiasts weren't so sure. "I had discussions with colleagues about it, and all of us just looked at it and said, well, that's the GMO tomato," says David Francis, a professor of horticulture and crop science at the Ohio State University who specializes in tomato breeding and genetics.
Read more at ideastream.org