What do consumers think of genetically enhanced papayas?
In the United States, consumers seem quite pleased with the fruit because the alternative is that papayas would have been pretty scarce – at least in Hawaii – if new virus-resistant varieties weren’t developed.21 There are two main genetically improved varieties of papaya: Rainbow, which is a yellow-fleshed hybrid between a conventional papaya and a genetically enhanced one; and SunUp, which is a red-fleshed transgenic papaya. As stated earlier, consumers have really embraced the Rainbow hybrid.22 There have been a few isolated cases of people objecting to genetically enhanced papayas. But it’s just not an issue for most people because the improved fruit is the same nutritionally as conventional varieties. And many people think it tastes even better.
