POLITICS - (Sort of) Tax dollars and watermelons

[Guest guest]

Hey, here's a great use of tax dollers. The USDA Agricultural Research Service

is developing a low-sugar watermelon that you can eat with artificial sweetener!

Can you say " on the wrong track " ?

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/np/fnrb/fnrb0105.htm

" Delicious, Low-Sugar Watermelons? Yes!

Can a low-sugar watermelon taste as crisp and refreshing as its conventional,

higher-sugar counterparts?

Yes, says an Agricultural Research Service plant geneticist who is developing

delicious, red-fleshed watermelons with about 5 percent sugar content. Red

watermelons we buy at supermarkets can have up to 14 percent.

Though low in sugar, the fruit still provides lycopene, the scientists showed

(HortScience, volume 39, page 654). This pigment gives the melon its attractive

red color and is thought to help reduce risk of heart disease and certain

cancers.

The melon might be ready for seed producers within a few years. Using artificial

sweetener will make the low-sugar watermelon taste fully sweet. That will be a

boon for people who love watermelon but have to cut back on calories, sugar--or

both.

For more information, contact R. , (580) 889-7395, ext. 263;

USDA-ARS South Central Agricultural Research Laboratory, Lane, OK. "