It’s beautiful, round, golden and plump to the touch. When peeled, the skin is even thin. “It’s a good one,” I exclaim.
God knows what has happened to oranges? It was never an issue before—the touch, the taste, the texture, etc. But in the last two years in particular, I have come across so many surprises that a new awareness is beginning to develop: oranges are not what they used to be. The first impression is that the skin has become much thicker. (A protective layer against what?) Second is the taste, or the lack of it. Often, the pulp is dry. Now I am neurotic about buying oranges, and more often than not, my purchase is disappointing.
But here, finally, I have an exception in my hand. The pulp seems to be bursting with juice. But cutting open the segments shows that it is all a deception. Again. The middle of the orange has shriveled like old skin. The taste? —–
Is it because of genetic modification? Pesticide? What makes an orange die at the heart?
