The story of the purple tomato — and why its success is a win for GM foods

Many breeds of genetically modified foods have made them more resistant to disease.

The first genetically modified (GM) food ever made commercially available to the public was a tomato, invented in the US in 1994.

Since then, a number of different genetically modified foods have been created, including corn, cotton, potatoes and pink pineapple.

Although genetically modified foods still get a bit of a bad rap, there are actually many good reasons why modifying an organism’s genetics may be worthwhile.

For example, many breeds of genetically modified foods have made them more resistant to disease.

It’s also possible to modify foods to make them more nutritious. Take for example golden rice. This grain was engineered to have higher levels of vitamin A, in order to tackle deficiencies of this nutrient in impoverished countries.

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But despite all the developments in genetically modified foods since 1994, few products have actually made it to the market.