Human Saliva Will Not Cause a Seed to Grow Into a Superfood
The Claim
Putting your saliva on the seed of an edible plant will cause it to grow into a superfood.
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The claim has been widely shared across social media platforms since late 2020.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s investigation concluded that there is no evidence that adding saliva to a plant’s seed will change its genetic makeup. The term “superfood” was coined by marketers to explain a food item that has a high nutritional density. It is not commonly used by scientists, doctors, and experts who often point out that the term is entirely made up.
According to experts, adding saliva to a plant is not a viable method of modifying its genetics. While there are ways to change a plant’s genetic makeup, they’re far more complicated than spitting on a seed.
Creating a genetically modified crop involves transferring new DNA into a plant cell. Harvard gives the following steps for genetic modification “identifying a trait of interest, isolating that genetic trait, inserting that trait into the genome of a desired organism, and then growing the engineered organism.” This involves the use of a gene gun to shoot DNA-coated particles into the seed. Saliva would not be sufficient for this process.
