Monday August 17, 2009, 8:17 am
Anti-oxidants have been proven to reduce the risk of a range of diseases such as heart disease and some types of cancer.

The so-called "booster broccoli" is the first in a group of vegetables being developed by scientists at Victoria's Department of Primary Industries (DPI).

DPI leading scientist Dr Rod Jones says the new broccoli is not the result of genetic engineering.

"All we've done is gone back and minded nature's natural diversity," he said.

He said they formed partnerships with large companies and tested all of their varieties of broccoli and selected the one out of 400 tested with the highest anti-oxidant content.

Now they have started to breed that variety.

"It's a premium branded product so the returns to growers should be higher," he said.

"It's also about improving the health of our population in general by getting people to eat vegetables that we know are very good for them."

So far more than $20-million has been invested in the project.

There are another 15 products in commercial testing including tomatoes, capsicum and lettuce.

"So once those lines come through, plus all the other ones we're looking at, cauliflower, onion, carrot, I don't think it will take too long for the investment to be recouped," he said.

Dr Jones says the booster broccoli actually tastes good too.

"It tastes sweeter than most other broccoli varieties because it's high in sugar."

He said Australian conditions are perfect for growing the new varieties because when the plants are stressed by a lack of water, the anti-oxidant level goes up.

He is confident they can eventually create a range of vegetables that have an even higher anti-oxidant content.

Monday August 17, 2009, 10:59 am
Created vegetables by scientists.
Hmmm

Monday August 17, 2009, 12:31 pm
I do not like the idea of vegetables being altered by scientists for any reason,

Monday August 17, 2009, 12:51 pm
Interesting - and they clearly state they have not mofified the vegetables, simply choosing the best product and concentrating on producing that one only. Makes for smart farming and healthy veggies.

Thanks Michelle

Monday August 17, 2009, 4:26 pm
Thanks Michelle, I missed this one last night on the news as I was interrupted.

This sounds great to me, they are finally doing the right thing, I'm looking forward to the veggies being put on the market. Like Eureka said; makes for smart farming and healthy veggies.

Tuesday August 18, 2009, 9:20 am
This is great especially if they have more anti oxidants in them and nothing else...

Tuesday August 18, 2009, 11:45 am
Sounds great especially if it's NOT been genetically modified. The anti-oxidants of vege and fruits is attributed to 2 main reasons:
1. fertility (quality) of soil (chemical pesticides etc can affect it negatively)
2. sunlight that helps plants/trees, etc to product their chlorophyll etc.

Thanks Michelle for this story!

Tuesday August 18, 2009, 1:37 pm
Will there be an FDA WARNING?

Veggies used to be good for you, but Scientists are making them nearly impossible to eat without gaining some sort of side affect. Some of which won't be known for years to come. :(

hugz ~ eLECTRA

Tuesday August 18, 2009, 7:42 pm
What if the body is not designed to consume such vast amts? What if it throws other things out of balance?

Wednesday August 19, 2009, 7:07 am
We have come to a turning point in the evolution of our species, where our most trusted 'leaders', 'experts' and 'scientists' have become our captors. We are the guinea pigs.

http://911thinktank.org/risks-of-genetic-engineering/

http://911thinktank.org/are-gm-crops-killing-bees/

Tuesday September 29, 2009, 10:13 pm
barbara i couldn't have said it better myself.