A Perfect Apple 
                          (or remaking nature)


Of all the senses, taste is probably the least appreciated. Yet the memory of a juicy, plump, delicious heirloom tomato, or any other luscious fruit or vegetable from a local farmer's stand, lives on for a long time to remind us of the unequaled glory that is nature.

Fruits and vegetables found at most supermarkets, don't usually get high marks for taste. Oh, they look fine alright: smooth skin, bright color, proportionate shape. If there are any imperfections, they are minimal, nothing dire. As for taste, that's a different story.  It seems consumers are willing to forsake the  essence of a food, its very taste, just as long as the produce they purchase looks all nice and polished to high sheen.

Appearance looms large in the public consciousness. And it doesn't just extend to produce. Just consider the photo shopped beauties that stare out of magazine covers, yet another example of society's pursuit of perfection coupled with its insatiable obsession for youth. These faces have little in common with reality, in fact they hardly look human at all. How can they when there is nary a pore, wrinkle, pimple, blotch or marking in sight! Robbed of all individuality, these homogenous faces stare vacuously at the world, the embodiment of a vision of flawless beauty that has no room for idiosyncrasy or imperfection, precisely the qualities that give each face its lovable uniqueness.

If we are so obsessed with looks, is it any surprise that a company from British Columbia should now step forward to offer American consumers a genetically engineered apple that will not brown when sliced or bruised? According to a recent New York Times story, Okanagan Specialty Fruits Inc. thinks that apple slices, a popular snack these days, would be more attractive to serve or sell if they didn't brown at all.  Never mind that the fruit's discoloring is the result of being exposed to air and Mother Nature's way of prodding people to hurry up and eat the apple before it loses its nutrients. Companies that sell apple slices take care of the browning problem by adding vitamin C and calcium but a splash of orange juice is said to work as well.

Nature has been around for a very long time, a lot longer than human beings, yet it would seem that it is no longer considered good enough. Which is behind the current push to remake nature. Why let an apple get brown when you can easily manipulate its genes in a lab and do away with this apparently bothersome characteristic. And since we're at it, why not do away with other characteristics, be it the color of a vegetable or fruit (hey, wouldn't it be great if avocados were red and had polka dots all over?) or its shape (how about a square watermelon, now that would be cool!) or its skin (bananas are such a breeze to peel why not make other fruits equally easy to eat?).

Tinkering with nature, no matter how well intentioned, carries unknown and unpredictable dangers, not least of which is uncertainty about the future effects of those changes on man and nature. The worse part is that genetic engineering is becoming so entrenched, with behemoth corporations such as Monsanto aggressively pushing this technology, that there is no turning back. Those concerned with this trend can opt to support organic farming and avoid buying foods that are genetically engineered (assuming they are so identified which is not always the case). They can also put in their two cents' worth of opinion before the appropriate government agencies. In the case of the non-browning apple, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is accepting public comments either online or by mail.
Online: http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2012-0025-0001
Or mail to the following address:
Docket No. APHIS-2012-0025, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD,
APHIS, station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. The deadline for submitting comments is Sept. 11, 2012.

Washington Street in San Juan
Learn to wander, to dawdle.
Lose your bearings.
Just drift.
Tiziano Scarpa

                   ☛ The Happy Store 

For the young and young at heart

Step inside "Everything but Match " in Old San Juan and you're likely to break into a smile. But make
sure to bring along a kid for this is a space geared to the young. This candy-colored concept store bursts

with high energy:  doodles of faces and cats decorate the walls, stars and a big sun hang from the ceiling, and the striped floor is painted vivid primary hues. Greeting you at the entrance is a bejeweled orange giraffe and in front of the fitting room is a brightly colored, reupholstered car seat rescued from a discarded Subaru; the register sits on a counter propped by two gaily decorated garbage drums. The merchandise, lovingly handmade by Puerto Rican artists, will delight young girls or boys: t-shirts, toys, clay houses, papier-mâché faces, bags made with recycled materials, craft jewelry that any little girl would love to wear. Dolls are "adopted" instead of "purchased" and t-shirts are sold in small canisters doubling as "piggy banks." It's never too early to teach the young to save. Owner Lilly Quiñones says the store was inspired by her oldest daughter, Valeria Sofia, a precocious six-year old with an interest in fashion and design. "The store is inspired by love and hope," says Quinones, virtues she hopes to pass along to her young clients. Parents may also arrange birthday parties at the store with painting and manual activities as the main entertainment.

Everything but Match, 201-B Tetuan Street, Old San Juan. Tel. 787.690.9578

Photograph by Denise Blasor

You have an obligation to be hopeful
How else can you continue?
We're all full of fear, but don't forget the beauty of what
can happen between people and what you see in the world.

Pina Bausch

© 2012 Lorraine Blasor, All Rights Reserved♥