Loved by Ernest Hemingway in a sandwich, around 4.5 milliion tonnes of onions are grown globally each year.

While Hemingway ate his onions raw, the vegetable is truly versatile and is the basis of sauces and stews, and can be a condiment on meats such as hotdogs and burgers and much, much more.

Onions are a staple crop, traded globally. They can be easily stored and transported, but there is one trait that makes the onion stand out: when you chop it, they bring tears too your eyes.

But not anymore:  30 years of crop breeding have led to the Sunions. It’s an onion that is less pungent, sweeter and it doesn’t make you cry. We explore the development of this groundbreaking new variety.

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