Do you buy grocery store broccoli?

I have noticed a trend with the broccoli we buy from the grocery store. Me and my mom have both always eaten the stems, and you have always had to peel off some of the skin on the thick end... But lately, I swear the stuff has bark. I have to peel it carefully, all the way up past where it splits into tufty heads. And if you miss any, it's not edible, thick and sharp, even after cooking. All I can come up with is they are using some hybrid made to last longer on the shelf and ship better.

Has anyone else noticed this?

Yes, it's something you could use on intruders should they enter your home unannounced, it's so tough (and sharp too, as you said).

I've read that broccoli is not very 'salt tolerant' and salt stress can affect the productivity of the crop. A lot of it is grown in California, Arizona, and Texas which are, based on what I've read, 'salty'. This is probably where most commercial broccoli is coming from but I am merely guessing. GMOs could be the other factor, but broccoli is really pretty much 'man made' from the get-go. Early wild versions were here 2000 years or so ago, but a lot of modifying went into getting the 'broccoli' we have now. Although that would be the type of modifying a farmer does with selection, rather than full on lab experiment where people are 'monkeying around' with it.

Cornell put out a story a while back about a project to use GMO moths to control pests on broccoli and kale, and it is something called the 'sterile insect technique' where they radiate the male moths to make them sterile, thus making less moths to prey on the broccoli. You have to wonder if radiated male moths nibbling on broccoli could affect it though.....