17-Year-Old Scientist Engineers Tomatoes That Taste Like Beef

A Miami teen is hoping to provide crucial nutrients for people where meat is not readily available through the process of gene engineering. Here is a look at what this young scientist is developing and how it could help people in nutrition deserts.

Young Scientist Develops Genetically Engineered Tomato Plants

Gabriella Rothberg is genetically engineering tomato plants in hopes of making them taste like beef. The 17-year-old scientist is growing tomatoes that not only taste like meat, but also contain nutrients rich in iron. Rothberg is genetically engineering the tomatoes so that they produce the molecule known as heme. This iron-containing molecule is also what gives the tomatoes the meat-like taste.

Rothberg's project, Impossible Vines, could be a breakthrough in how people around the world access iron. Rothberg recently sat down with the Miami New Times to share the details of her experiment. According to Rothberg, the tomato plants are able to produce heme because they have been exposed to the genetic material through a bacterium known in scientific circles as Agrobacterium.

The major meat-less product producer Impossible Foods also leans on heme to make their plant-based meat alternatives. In addition to heme, Impossible Foods uses soy protein, yeast, sunflower and coconut oil, and binders to make their products taste like and appear like meat. Similarly, Beyond Meat crafts its plant-based products with red lentils, brown rice, beans, yellow peas, potato starch, beets, and avocado to mimic the taste and appearance of meat.

Those who want to learn more about Rothberg's experiment can check out her Instagram page. On this page, she shares the details of her tomato lab, demonstrating in a tour how the plants transform from sterile seeds to tomato vines. The Instagram account also explains how one of the plants “once began as a tissue-cultured explant back in June,” showing its progress over the last several weeks.

“From a tiny leaf on a petri dish, we grew stem cells, shoots, and finally roots,” she explains. “The plantlet we then transplanted into soil, slowly acclimating it to ambient humidity until it became an established plant.”