Food tasting bland lately? It is not your imagination!

Bite into a fresh tomato on your salad, and you may notice that it doesn't taste as good as you remember it—or maybe you never remember a tomato tasting like anything. Maybe you went out of the country or over to your gardener friend's house, grabbed what you thought was the same tomato, and got a big surprise.

The truth is, food has been getting bland for a long time. When the freak accident we know as “red delicious” burst onto the scene, it was made popular because it was beautiful, durable, and had a long shelf life. It was never popular for its flavor. Vegetables of every sort have been following suit since, with corn, tomatoes, and even lettuce grown for disease resistance and shelf life, not flavor.

 These fruits and vegetables often have a long way to travel before they can get to our dinner plates, so they may be picked as much as 2 months in advance, green and rock hard, before being treated with gas to make them ripen faster. While this may keep your tomato from being a bruised and disgusting mess by the time you get it, it also means it has been farther robbed of its flavor.

 That's now beginning to change as chefs and breeders are joining forces to create food that actually tastes like something. In a recent summit that involved chefs, horticulturists, and breeders, plans were put into action to work on breeding for flavor and commercial viability once again.

One breed of tomato called “Garden Gem” is already being tested as a commercial product, and could be hitting store shelves soon. If you can't wait however, the solution is easy. Breed heirloom varieties in your own garden, or if you don't have the space join a community garden and grow there. You'll be amazed at the difference in taste fresh, real food provides you.