https://www.businessinsider.com/what-foods-looked-like-before-genetic-modification-2016-1 Subscribe Newsletters [ ] Search Business Strategy Economy Finance Retail Advertising Careers Media Real Estate Small Business The Better Work Project Tech Science AI Enterprise Transportation Startups Innovation Markets Stocks Indices Commodities Crypto Currencies ETFs Lifestyle Entertainment Culture Travel Food Health Parenting Reviews Tech Streaming Tickets Home Kitchen Style Beauty Gifts Deals Politics Military & Defense Law Education Personal Finance Banking Savings Best Savings Accounts Raisin Review Checking Accounts Best Checking Accounts Chime Checking Account SoFi Checking and Saving Best Money Market Accounts CDs Best CD Rates Best Bank Account Bonuses Cash Back Debit Cards Best Banks CIT Bank Review UFB Direct Bank Small Business Banking Credit Cards Credit Scores Credit Monitoring Best Credit Cards Best Cash Back Credit Cards Best Rewards Credit Cards Best Travel Credit Cards Best 0% APR Credit Cards Best Balance Transfer Credit Cards Best First Credit Cards Best Business Credit Cards Discover it Cash Back Credit Card Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card Investing Financial Planning Retirement Taxes Loans Best personal loans Best debt consolidation loans Best Loans for Bad Credit Student Loans Best Student Loans Best Student Loan Refinance Mortgages Best mortgage lenders Best mortgage refinance lenders Best FHA Lenders Best HELOC Lenders Insurance Best Car Insurance Homeowners Insurance Best Homeowners Insurance Best Renters Insurance Life Insurance Best Life Insurance Pet Insurance Best Pet Insurance Travel Insurance Best Travel Insurance SquareMouth Travel Insurance Identity Theft Protection Video Big Business Food Wars So Expensive Still Standing Boot Camp Subscribe My account Log in Newsletters US edition Deutschland & Osterreich Espana Japan Netherlands Polska Get the app HOME Subscribe Science Here's what fruits and vegetables looked like before we domesticated them Tanya Lewis 2016-01-31T14:00:00Z An curved arrow pointing right. Share Facebook Email X LinkedIn Copy Link An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt. Impact Link A bookmark Save Read in app A peeled banana Getty This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in. Next time you bite into a slice of watermelon or a cob of corn, consider this: These familiar fruits and veggies didn't always look and taste this way. Genetically modified foods, or GMOs, inspire strong reactions nowadays, but humans have been tweaking the genetics of our favorite produce for millennia. While GMOs may involve splicing genes from other organisms (such as bacteria) to give plants desired traits -- like resistance to pests, selective breeding is a slower process whereby farmers select and grow crops with those traits over time. From bananas to eggplant, here are some of the foods that looked totally different before humans first started growing them for food. Wild watermelon watermelon painting [55dc745bbd] Alvaro/Wikimedia Commons This 17th-century painting by Giovanni Stanchi depicts a watermelon that looks strikingly different from modern melons, as Vox points out. A cross-section of the one in the painting, which was made between 1645 and 1672, appears to have swirly shapes embedded in six triangular pie-shaped pieces. Modern watermelon seedless watermelon [500585e7ea] Wikimedia Commons Over time, humans have bred watermelons to have a red, fleshy interior -- which is actually the placenta -- like the ones seen here. Some people think the watermelon in Stanchi's painting may just be unripe or unwatered, but the black seeds in the painting suggest that it was, in fact, ripe. Wild banana banana before [55db7696ec] Genetic Literacy Project The first bananas may have been cultivated at least 7,000 years ago -- and possibly as early as 10,000 years ago -- in what is now Papua New Guinea. They were also grown in Southeast Asia. Modern bananas came from two wild varieties, Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana, which had large, hard seeds, like the ones in this photo. Modern banana banana after [55dc7515bd] Domiriel/Flickr Creative Commons The hybrid produced the delicious modern banana, with its handy, graspable shape and peelable covering. Compared to its ancestor, the fruit has much smaller seeds, tastes better, and is packed with nutrients. Wild eggplant eggplant before [55db768269] Genetic Literacy Project Throughout their history, eggplants have come in a wide array of shapes and colors, such as white, azure, purple, and yellow -- like those shown here. Some of the earliest eggplants were cultivated in China. Primitive versions used to have spines on the place where the plant's stem connects to the flowers. Modern eggplant eggplants [4e8342c96b] YoAmes/Flickr But selective breeding has gotten rid of the spines and given us the larger, familiar, oblong purple vegetable you find in most grocery stores. Wild carrot carrot before [55db76676b] Genetic Literacy Project The earliest known carrots were grown in the 10th century in Persia and Asia Minor. These were thought to originally be purple or white with a thin, forked root -- like those shown here -- but they lost their purple pigment and became a yellow color. Modern carrot carrot after [55dc76659d] Shutterstock Farmers domesticated these thin, white roots, which had a strong flavor and biennial flower, into these large, tasty orange roots that are an annual winter crop. Wild corn corn before [55dc731c9d] Genetic Literacy Project Perhaps the most iconic example of selective breeding is North American sweetcorn, which was bred from the barely edible teosinte plant. Natural corn, shown here, was first domesticated in 7,000 BC and was dry like a raw potato, according to this infographic by chemistry teacher James Kennedy. Modern corn corn after [55dc772cbd] Flickr/Rosana Prada Today, corn is 1,000 times larger than it was 9,000 years ago and much easier to peel and grow. Also, 6.6% of it is made up of sugar, compared with just 1.9% in natural corn, according to Kennedy. About half of these changes occurred since the 15th century, when European settlers started cultivating the crop. Wild peach peach before [55dc776c9d] James Kennedy Peaches used to be small, cherry-like fruits with little flesh. They were first domesticated around 4,000 B.C. by the ancient Chinese and tasted earthy and slightly salty, "like a lentil," according to Kennedy. Modern peach peach after [55dc777b9d] James Kennedy But after thousands of years of farmers selectively breeding them, peaches are now 64 times larger, 27% juicier, and 4% sweeter. So next time someone tells you we shouldn't be eating food that's been genetically modified, you can tell them we already are. 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