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Am I eating genetically engineered papaya?
History and prevalence of GE papaya.

It's possible, but is more likely in Hawaiian and west coast markets. All commercial production of GE papayas is in Hawaii-- where the GE varieties "Rainbow" and "SunUp" account for more than 50% of local papaya production-- but the supply of GE papayas to the mainland is still relatively small. Much of the papayas sold in the continental US are imported from Brazil, Mexico, and the Caribbean (and not genetically-engineered). If your papaya is labeled with a Hawaii origin, odds are 50-50 that it is genetically engineered.
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In the mid 90s, responding to a devastating papaya virus epidemic, researchers at Cornell University and at the University of Hawaii developed two virus-resistant varieties of GE papaya--"Rainbow" and "SunUp"-- which were approved for commercial plantings in late 1996. The Hawaiian Papaya Administrative Committee negotiated agreements with various patent-holders to allow the GE seeds to be given free to Hawaiian papaya growers, and the first commercial plantings were made in May of 1998.

The new varieties were so successful in resisting the viral epidemic that by the next year "Rainbow" and "SunUp" were planted on more than 30% of Hawaii's papaya acreage. Despite utility for growers, the Hawaiian papaya industry recently has found itself facing a dilemma: Japan, the importer of almost 40% of Hawaii's papayas, has shown some reluctance to purchase the GE papaya varieties.

US researchers are currently collaborating with public-sector scientists in many other papaya-growing countries-- who are similarly facing a papaya viral epidemic-- to help them employ the technology to develop their own resistant lines.
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