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This Is What Fruits And Veggies Used To Look Like

Corn, is that you?
Joy D'Souza
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By the age of three, most kids can identify bananas, carrots and corn, but it may shock you to learn these everyday fruits and vegetables didn't always look the way they do today.

In the video below by Business Insider, we get a closer look at what popular fruits and veggies looked like before they became domesticated.

Today, most of our produce is genetically modified (GMO), which means their genetic make up is altered for a variety of reasons, including aesthetics. While big, bright and juicy watermelons are as appealing to the eyes as they are to your taste buds, the original watermelon was actually extremely small and quite bitter, according to Haileybury Institute chemistry teacher James Kennedy.

Genetically modified foods have been linked to an increase in allergies, but the World Health Organization (WHO) insists these foods on the market are safe for consumption. WHO also advocates examining GMO products on a case-by-case basis.

Watch the video above to find out more.

Also on HuffPost

Can These GMO Foods Save the World?
Drought-Tolerant Corn(01 of05)
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This one has some obvious benefits: researches have been able to engineer a breed of corn that can survive long periods of water deprivation. A couple different varieties are on the market and already in use, and the one sold by Monsanto, called DroughtGard, added the same gene that bacteria use to continue growing in cold environments. Photo Credit: iStockPhoto/ ThinkstockClick Here to see More of the GMO Foods That Could Save the World
Blight-Resistant Potatoes(02 of05)
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Late blight has long been the bane of potato farmers’ existence; the fungus-like pathogen was responsible for the Irish potato harvest being decimated in the 1800s. Ireland’s agricultural agency, Teagasc, has been hard at work developing a potato that’s been genetically modified to resist blight, and once it’s tested and approved, it could do away with the plague that destroys about a fifth of the world’s annual potato harvest. Photo Credit: Liquidlibrary/ Thinkstock
Virus-Resistant Papaya(03 of05)
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Papaya ringspot virus has historically seriously lowered yields of papaya crops, and throughout the 1990s researchers worked to develop a cultivar that was resistant to it. In 1999 the first virus-resistant papayas were grown in Hawaii (they elicit an immune-like response to the virus), and today they’re approved for consumption in both the U.S. and Canada. Photo Credit: iStockPhoto/ ThinkstockClick Here to see More of the GMO Foods That Could Save the World
Insect-Resistant Eggplant(04 of05)
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The Bt bacteria has also been effectively worked into the DNA of eggplant, which sees up to 40 percent of yearly crop loss due to a pest called the “fruit and shoot borer.” The natural insecticide has been found to be non-toxic to fish, chickens, rabbits, goats, rats, and cattle.Photo Credit: iStockPhoto/ Thinkstock
Virus-Resistant Squash(05 of05)
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The second GE crop to be cleared by U.S. regulators (after papaya), a breed of squash called Freedom II was engineered to be resistant to two viruses. Today six varieties of virus-resistant squash and zucchini are being sold in the U.S. Click Here to see More of the GMO Foods That Could Save the WorldPhoto Credit: iStockPhoto/ Thinkstock

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