Question
Is Michigan supersweet bicolored corn a GMO?
is Michigan supersweet bicolored corn a gmo?
Submitted by: exe1147
Answer
Expert response from Amanda Zaluckyj
Farmer, Lawyer, Blogger, TheFarmersDaughterUSA.com
Friday, 14/08/2015 10:35
Not necessarily. The supersweet corn does not necessarily come from a genetically modified crop.
When my family raised sweet corn for our roadside stand in Michigan, the supersweet varieties were definitely very popular among our customers! Supersweet is a category of sweet corn distinguished by its sweeter flavor. Supersweet is actually only one of three types of corn that has been bred to have a higher sugar content. There are also “normal sugary” and “sugar-enhanced” categories of sweet corn that have higher sugar content, though as the name suggests, supersweet is the sweetest. The supersweet type is certainly the most widely grown and very popular.
All three of these categories of sweet corn were developed from hybridization. Hybridization is a traditional plant breeding technique where the pollen from one plant is used to fertilize another related or unrelated plant species. Over time, sweet corn growers sought a product that was sweeter and maintained its sugar content over a longer period of time. Through the hybrid breeding techniques, the three categories of sweet corn were developed with a higher sugar content and the ability to sustain the higher sugar content over a longer period of time. All three categories of sweet corn come in white, yellow, and bicolor.
The genetic traits giving the sweet corn the supersweet designation are not considered GMO because they were developed through hybridization. These categories actually existed well before what we consider a “GMO” was taking place. However, today it is possible that a supersweet variety of sweet corn could also have a genetically modified trait in addition to the higher sugar content. Nonetheless, the supersweet designation is completely unrelated to genetic modification.
Sources:
Answer
Expert response from Amanda Zaluckyj
Farmer, Lawyer, Blogger, TheFarmersDaughterUSA.com
Friday, 14/08/2015 10:35
Not necessarily. The supersweet corn does not necessarily come from a genetically modified crop.
When my family raised sweet corn for our roadside stand in Michigan, the supersweet varieties were definitely very popular among our customers! Supersweet is a category of sweet corn distinguished by its sweeter flavor. Supersweet is actually only one of three types of corn that has been bred to have a higher sugar content. There are also “normal sugary” and “sugar-enhanced” categories of sweet corn that have higher sugar content, though as the name suggests, supersweet is the sweetest. The supersweet type is certainly the most widely grown and very popular.
All three of these categories of sweet corn were developed from hybridization. Hybridization is a traditional plant breeding technique where the pollen from one plant is used to fertilize another related or unrelated plant species. Over time, sweet corn growers sought a product that was sweeter and maintained its sugar content over a longer period of time. Through the hybrid breeding techniques, the three categories of sweet corn were developed with a higher sugar content and the ability to sustain the higher sugar content over a longer period of time. All three categories of sweet corn come in white, yellow, and bicolor.
The genetic traits giving the sweet corn the supersweet designation are not considered GMO because they were developed through hybridization. These categories actually existed well before what we consider a “GMO” was taking place. However, today it is possible that a supersweet variety of sweet corn could also have a genetically modified trait in addition to the higher sugar content. Nonetheless, the supersweet designation is completely unrelated to genetic modification.
Sources: