When you enter a supermarket and pick up a watermelon you might not think about what happened thousands of years ago and how it became the wildly popular fruit it is today. By Veronika Photo by Kenta Kikuchi on Unsplash When you think of popular fruits, you might think of trendy avocados and everyday apples. However, while these fruits get all the glory, watermelons are actually one of the most produced fruit crops in the world; second to bananas according to some research. They are grown in almost all countries, despite their giant, inconvenient size. And this popularity is not a new trend. Watermelon seeds dating back 5000 years were found by archaeologists in Libya and in Ancient Egyptian tombs leaves of a white, fresh and bitter watermelon as well as paintings depicting the fruit have been discovered. But these early watermelons were genetically modified to change from being a very bitter fruit to becoming the juicy, sweet fruit we know today. It is a fruit that stays edible for a long time and so became a popular source of water, especially in hotter places. The video below highlights this fascinating history, from North Africa to the Americas via Europe and Asia. The history of watermelons is not only a practical one, however. The fruit also has symbolic value in different cultures. It has been written about in religious texts, such as the Bible, depicted as a fruit symbolizing love, life, abundance and fertility. In Islam, the Prophet Muhammad is described as eating watermelon. In today's world, it has been used by Palestinians to represent their political struggle. In terms of production, with many countries growing tons and tons of watermelon every year, pesticide and fertilizer levels have increased, which contaminates the food supply. However, watermelons also have many health benefits. We know that they contain "large amounts of lycopene, the pigment that makes the watermelon red inside, which also provides health benefits." Like the Ancient Egyptians, researchers are looking for ways to make watermelons even better. For example, Professor Zhangjun Fei of The Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI) and Rebecca Grumet of Michigan University are looking at disease resistance, producing different varieties of crops. BTI claims that "these experiments will make watermelon breeding faster and more efficient making sure that the species do not become endangered or die out." Hopefully, the watermelon will continue to share its benefits with us and help people balance their diets. Next time you cut through the rough outer layer of a watermelon, think of Mark Twain's words: "When one has tasted it, he knows what the angels eat."
1 Comment
Terry
9/5/2024 21:03:03
Congrats, Veronika, on your watermelon piece! I had no idea that watermelon seeds dating back 5000 years had been found. Wow! I like how your piece takes us into the story behind an everyday food that we take for granted. Well done!
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