Purple Tomatoes for Your Health

What colour are tomatoes? If you think the answer is “red”, you may be right temporarily. Soon the answer may include “purple”:

“Scientists have developed purple tomatoes which they hope may be able to keep cancer at bay.

The fruit are rich in an antioxidant pigment called anthocyanin which is thought to have anti-cancer properties.”

link: Purple tomato ‘may boost health’

Purple is very close to blue; and blue food appears only rarely in nature. Yes, there are blueberries but blue is not a colour associated with health. Green is associated with health. Blue has been noted as an appetite suppressant. This may be a long term, conditioned response that humans have had. Blue meant that a food could have turn rancid. The marketing of purple tomatoes will focus on health. However, that marketing will have to overcome generations of conditioned bias.

Catherine Forsythe