FRUITS

Is it true the kiwi is a human-engineered fruit and doesn't exist in nature?

Yes and no. Brian Husband, professor at the Department of Organismal Biology at the University of Guelph in Canada says, "The kiwi, which is known for its abundance of vitamin C and is commonly found in fruit or grocery stores around the world, is a modified version of the Chinese gooseberry or Actinidia chinensis, native to southeastern China." The fruit was altered for size, taste and hardiness in the 20th century by New Zealand fruit growers. Seeing that the kiwi's brown, furry skin resembled the body of the flightless kiwi bird, a new name was adopted for the "new" fruit.