Why Fruit Doesn’t Taste Like It Used To

Scientists and farmers explain how breeding for shelf life, early harvesting, and industrial farming drained the flavor and nutrition out of fruit.

Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock

The most beautiful piece of fruit you'll eat this year will probably also be the least satisfying. That’s not a coincidence.

As fruit production scaled globally, growers increasingly bred varieties that could withstand long shipping distances, sit longer on shelves, and appear uniform and enticing, often at the expense of the complex sugars and aromatic compounds that give fruit its signature flavor.