Dry Your Eyes, the Tearless Onion is Here

On February 1, 2008, Crop & Food Research announced the world’s first tearless onion.  Dr. Colin Eady, a plant biologist, and his Japanese counterparts have saved cooks from the perils of crying in the kitchen.  Normally the onion’s enzyme, lachrymatory-factor synthase, is released upon cutting the onion, which then leads to tearing.  Eady’s onion silences the gene that produces that enzyme, giving the onion non-tearing properties. 

Interest in Eady’s onion has been gaining momentum since his presentation at the 5th International Symposium on Edible Alliaceae, and his subsequent appearance on the cover of “Onion World” (an International Trade Journal that published Eady’s findings in their December 2007 issue). Don’t worry though, scientists insist the product is safe, and we have another decade before this onion will hit the grocery stores.   

Dr. Eady’s interest in the GM onion dates back to 2003 when he applied to the New Zealand Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA) for permission to test onion plants by adding a gene in order to make them tolerant to the herbicide glyphosate. Controversy surrounded Eady’s research when efforts to hide the financial backer’s identity were kept secret.  Seminis Vegetable Seeds, the California-based international seed company, eventually stepped forward with their “altruistic” intent to help farmers by cutting the percentage of herbicide used by onion growers. Both Crop & Food Research and Seminis have already applied for patents with the U.S. and European Patent Offices. 

Link to the 2003 ERMA Application

U.S. Patent

European Patent

Thank you to William Mitchell College of Law student Wendy Sanchez, who prepared this post.