11 Month Old Apple

I came across a ted talk today (link below) in which I was shocked to learn that that the average age of an apple sold at a grocery stores is 11 months! These apples are put into a cold storage where their life is lengthened. This process removes all of the nutrients and minerals in and essentially turns the apple into a ball of sugar with little to no nutritional value.

The first time I went to a farmers market and tasted the food I had brought home, I noticed that it tasted a lot better and fresher. This is because the fruits and vegetables sold at farmers markets are all naturally grown and sold with in a day or two of harvesting. This allows them to keep all of their nutritional value. One of the reasons why vegetables and fruits are put into cold storage to lengthen the aging process is to keep fruits and vegetables during off season and to make sure there is a lot of supply.

Caleb Harper created a technology which allows you to change the climate your plant is growing and see if it has gained enough nutritional value before it is plucked. Maybe in the future all of us can have digital farms in our to lengthen the aging process is to keep fruits and vegetables during off se own homes?

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