The idea of flavor changing interests me. The definition of ‘good’ meat and other products has been greatly changed with the introduction of refrigeration. Also, the availability of meat and other goods has greatly increased with the presence of refrigerators. Before, meat could only last a couple of days or it had to be salted or dried and used relatively quickly. The refrigerator was not always accepted as a good thing. When it was first introduced, people were wary of it. To decrease suspicion, the government introduced certain regulations like the sell by date and expiration date. Now, people rely so heavily on the dates that have been given to them to determine freshness. In reality, many things can still be used after the date placed on the packaging. People are striving towards some sort of ‘food ideal’ that has constantly been changing. It has been shown that people are more likely to believe that something is fresh if it is refrigerated. Similarly, different food items are being modified to meet certain standards that humans have put in place. For example, humans are modifying different fruits, like apples. Some of these modifications that have been approved by the FDA include a non-browning aspect. Many a time have I accidentally forgotten about my apple slices and returned to see them brown. Because of the ideas of freshness that have been created, many are likely to determine that the apple can no longer be eaten because its inside color has changed to an unappealing hue. In fact, it is very natural for an apple to turn brown with air contact. The apple reacts naturally with the oxygen in the air to turn brown.The brown area of the apple is still however fresh although a different color. I personally would be much more skeptical and less willing to eat an apple if it was brown when presented to me. I know in my head that an apple exposed to oxygen is still good to eat. However, with refrigeration I have been raised to identify freshness in a certain way. In basic terms, if an item appears to be of natural and good, solid coloring and in the sell by date, it is considered fresh. With genetic modification of various foods, more concentration to the aesthetic of the food arises. How many times has a very brown spotted banana been seen in a grocery store in America? I personally tend to see green and yellow bananas with minimal spotting. These brown spots have been shown to appear with a different type of packaging. In different cultures and places, the brown spots on the banana indicate that it is at its prime. The idea of ‘freshness’ in America has been changed from the natural to the modified. What people see in the fruit often determines how fresh they believe it to be. Humans are changing the natural order of living organisms and the change is considered ‘better’ or ‘fresher’. A question that runs throughout this course is: is anything natural anymore or have humans that impossible. In terms of food, humans have and are creating new standards for food that don’t necessarily include the food occur in nature. Humans have made our own rules as to what is good or not and genetic modification of food is far from over.