Altered apple doesn't brown, makes apple industry see red

One Canadian company's new apple has spurred a heated debate. Okanagan Specialty Fruits’ Arctic Apple carries a synthetic gene that reduces the production of polyphenol oxidase, the enzyme that causes the fruit to brown. The U.S. apple industry opposes the nonbrowing apple, because it might “undermine the fruit’s image as a healthy and natural food.” Whether consumers will buy the apples may come down to semantics. A survey commissioned by Okanagan of American apple eaters found 60 percent would buy nonbrowning apples, though the survey did not mention genetic engineering. When Canadian respondents were asked about genetically modified apples, instead of non-browning ones, 70 percent opposed them. [Source]