The Evolution of Our Everyday Foods

The tomato we eat today wasn’t always juicy red, and bananas didn’t use to be seedless. The orange or golden tomato is thought to be the earliest type of tomato, first brought from Mexico to other parts of the world around 500 years ago. The bananas we’re familiar with today started to take shape around 650 AD in Africa, when two wild species Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana were crossbred.

This breeding process led to some bananas becoming seedless and more similar to the soft, sweet varieties we eat now. Musa acuminata species produces long, slender bananas with sweet flesh, but they contain many hard seeds, making them unpleasant to eat raw. Musa balbisiana species produces shorter, thicker bananas with tougher skin and even more seeds than Musa acuminata(Alt, Al-Ahmad and Woelber, 2022). It's more drought and disease-resistant and has a more starchy, less sweet taste. Genetic modification isn't a recent development.

For thousands of years, humans have been changing the genes of plants by saving seeds from the best-performing crops and replanting them, as well as by crossbreeding different varieties to improve traits like sweetness, size, and shelf life. Through this long process, we've turned the wild tomato, Lycopersicon, which originally produced marble-sized fruits, into the large, juicy beefsteak tomatoes we see today. Likewise, modern corn has evolved from a wild grass called teosinte, which had tiny ears just about an inch long, into today’s sweet white and yellow corn with ears up to a foot (0.3 meters) long. In more recent times, plant scientists have used conventional breeding methods to develop wheat and rice varieties that yield more grain.

They've also produced hundreds of new plant types by exposing them to radiation or chemicals that cause mutations. Around a hundred people die annually due to peanut allergies. Genetically engineered foods help reduce such risks because they undergo extensive and thorough testing before reaching the market(Scott et al., 2018). The primary safety concerns surrounding genetically engineered crops relate more to environmental impact than to human health. Supporters argue that these crops provide an eco-friendlier option compared to traditional pesticides, which can contaminate surface and groundwater and pose threats to wildlife.

Why do We Change our food?

It’s clear that our food has evolved dramatically over time. Our nutritional health largely depends on the types of food we consume. Diets high in processed and junk foods are often lacking in essential nutrients, making dietary changes necessary for better health. The Standard American Diet (SAD), in particular, is characterized by an imbalance of macronutrients and a deficiency in key micronutrients, such as fiber, vitamins, and minerals, which are critical for maintaining optimal physiological function and preventing chronic disease(Taiz and Taiz, 2011).

Since the agricultural revolution 10,000 years ago, the way we produce and handle food has continually changed and in doing so, we've reshaped the natural world. Much of what we eat today would seem unrecognizable to our grandparents. This transformation has been driven by many factors, including how we cultivate crops, the methods used to process foods, and the systems for distributing, marketing, and selling them.

After World War II, more women began working outside the home, which left less time for cooking. As a result, traditional cooking practices started giving way to advertising-driven choices and an increase in processed foods. The retail landscape was also changing by the mid-1950s, supermarkets had become widespread.

The food industry responded by focusing on solving the "problem" of time, offering products designed to make meal preparation faster and more convenient for busy families(Gurău and Ranchhod, 2016).

A GMO, or genetically modified organism, refers to a plant whose DNA has been changed either by directly injecting new genetic material or by using RNA interference (RNAi) to silence existing genes in order to develop specific traits. Products labeled by the non-GMO Project confirm that they don’t contain GMOs, but this doesn’t necessarily mean they’re free of antibiotics or other potentially harmful chemicals. The label does not guarantee the overall purity or safety of the food(Scott et al., 2018). GMO technology has provided a range of important benefits, including: Decreased use of pesticides, improved disease resistance, enhanced crop traits, lower labor demands.

Additionally, there are three distinct categories of organic food labeling.

• USDA Certified Organic indicates that the product fully meets all organic regulations 100% of the ingredients are organic, and no non-organic substances or processing aids are involved.

• “Organic” on a label means that at least 95% of the ingredients are organic. The remaining 5% must be on an approved list of substances allowed in organic food production.

  
  

• “Made with organic” means that at least 70% of the ingredients are organic. The rest must also comply with standards for organic food processing, and the product must include at least three organic ingredients.

  
  

Foods That got Upgrade

Carrot: (Daucus carota L.) is the most significant crop within the Apiaceae family and is cultivated globally as a root vegetable. Initially, carrots were valued for their medicinal properties, but over time, they became widely consumed as a food source. Carrots originated in Central Asia, where wild varieties were initially cultivated not for their roots, but for their fragrant leaves and seeds.

Early domesticated carrots came in colors like purple, red, and yellow. The now-common orange carrot was developed in the 16th century by Dutch farmers, who selectively bred carrots for their sweeter flavor and bright orange color. This new variety gained popularity and even became a symbol of Dutch national pride, leading to the widespread acceptance of the orange carrot we know today(da Silva Dias, 2014).

Corn: Wild teosinte, the ancestor of modern maize, had tiny, hard kernels. Centuries of breeding turned it into the plump, sweet ears we enjoy, boosting kernel size, uniformity, and sugar content.

Tomatoes: Early Garden tomatoes were small and often pale green or yellow. Over time, breeders developed larger, deep‐red fruits with thicker skins to survive transport. Those changes also enhanced sweetness for a more satisfying bite.

Bananas: Wild bananas teemed with hard seeds and had much less flesh. Today’s Cavendish banana was selected for its seedless interior, smooth texture, and consistent sweetness making it the world’s most popular banana.

When Modifications Went Too Far

Tomatoes: In the quest for firm, shippable fruit, many heirloom varieties lost their tangy complexity and some of their lycopene content, leaving a more uniform but less flavorful tomato.

Wheat: Modern high-yield wheat varieties often contain higher gluten levels. Some experts suggest this may be linked to increasing gluten sensitivities and celiac diagnoses, though research is ongoing.

  Apples: Store-bought apples prioritize a glossy finish, long storage life, and uniform sweetness, which has driven dozens of heirloom apple varieties toward extinction, reducing genetic diversity and flavor complexity.

  Chicken: Broiler chickens are now bred to reach market weight in half the time of their ancestors. While this feeds more people more cheaply, it can contribute to welfare concerns like leg disorders and alters the meat’s texture and fat composition.

The Trade-Off

Our global food system faces a balancing act between feeding billions affordably and preserving flavor, nutrition, and biodiversity. High-yield, long-lasting crops keep supermarket prices low and reduce waste, but they can narrow genetic variety and shift nutrient profiles. As consumers, our tastes and demands influence what breeders prioritize. A growing movement for heirloom produces, organic farming, and regenerative agriculture seeks to push back reviving older varieties and more holistic practices.

Conclusion

Next time you bite into a juicy tomato or peel a sweet banana, pause to appreciate the centuries of human ingenuity and compromise that shaped it. If you have access, try seeking out heirloom tomatoes, purple carrots, or local‐market apple varieties to taste the full spectrum of flavors history has to offer. Who knows what our food will look, taste, and feel like another hundred years from now?

References

Alt, K.W., Al-Ahmad, A. and Woelber, J.P. (2022) ‘Nutrition and Health in Human Evolution–Past to Present’, Nutrients, 14(17), pp. 1–34. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14173594.

Gurău, C. and Ranchhod, A. (2016) ‘The futures of genetically-modified foods: Global threat or panacea?’, Futures, 83, pp. 24–36. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2016.06.007.

Scott, S.E. et al. (2018) ‘An overview of attitudes toward genetically engineered food’, Annual Review of Nutrition, 38, pp. 459–479. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-nutr-071715-051223.

da Silva Dias, J.C. (2014) ‘Nutritional and Health Benefits of Carrots and Their Seed Extracts’, Food and Nutrition Sciences, 05(22), pp. 2147–2156. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4236/fns.2014.522227.

Taiz, L. and Taiz, S.L. (2011) ‘The biological section of the Voynich manuscript: a textbook of medieval plany physiology?’, Chronica Horticulturae, 51(2), pp. 19–22. Available at: http://actahort.org/chronica/pdf/ch5102.pdf#page=19.

Alt, K.W., Al-Ahmad, A. and Woelber, J.P. (2022) ‘Nutrition and Health in Human Evolution–Past to Present’, Nutrients, 14(17), pp. 1–34. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14173594.

Gurău, C. and Ranchhod, A. (2016) ‘The futures of genetically-modified foods: Global threat or panacea?’, Futures, 83, pp. 24–36. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2016.06.007.

Scott, S.E. et al. (2018) ‘An overview of attitudes toward genetically engineered food’, Annual Review of Nutrition, 38, pp. 459–479. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-nutr-071715-051223.

da Silva Dias, J.C. (2014) ‘Nutritional and Health Benefits of Carrots and Their Seed Extracts’, Food and Nutrition Sciences, 05(22), pp. 2147–2156. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4236/fns.2014.522227.

Taiz, L. and Taiz, S.L. (2011) ‘The biological section of the Voynich manuscript: a textbook of medieval plany physiology?’, Chronica Horticulturae, 51(2), pp. 19–22. Available at: http://actahort.org/chronica/pdf/ch5102.pdf#page=19.