Demand Rising for Extra Sweet “Cotton Candy Grapes” (with Video)

With such an incredible lack of transparency surrounding genetically modified foods as well as test plots, it’s not surprising that many people have a hard time keeping up with what’s been created in a lab and what hasn’t.

Further muddying the waters are dangerously irresponsible declarations by the likes of astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, who tried to fool the general public into believing hybridization and GMOs are virtually the same using his enormous clout (his argument was shut down easily however, as this video shows).

So when headlines started coming out about the mysterious “cotton candy grapes” being grown and sold in California, you may be forgiven for thinking that they could potentially be genetically modified.

In this case, the “designer” grapes are actually the product of about 10 years of careful breeding technique, according to Jim Beagle, the founder of the Grapery in California where they’re being grown after being invented by fruit geneticist David Cain.

Demand for the grapes, which taste like the light and fluffy confection, has been building, and now Beagle is offering an at-home delivery service called GraperyDirect.com.

Already, Wal-Mart and other major retailers have been asking to carry the one-of-kind fruit, but Beagle has declined all offers while working to satisfy his own customers.

Cain is also working on another designer grape that is a cross between raspberry and lemonade flavors.

Currently, there are several types of these designer fruits on grocery store shelves, and they’re all hybridized, including the likes of pluots, peacharines and cherums. Some health researchers say that these types of fruits general have more sugar in them, but as a whole they are not GMO (unless they come from a genetically modified fruit like papaya which is highly unlikely).

So while foods like cotton candy grapes aren’t the healthiest of their kind, they’re certainly a better choice than genetically modified produce, if you can find them, that is.

For those of you who may be wondering, a pound of cotton candy grapes will run you about six bucks. Check out the video below to learn more about the new grapes that are taking Bakersfield by storm.