Short answers, pulled from the story.
Papaya is native to southern Mexico and Central America, with Chiapas and Veracruz among its original regions. The Calusa people or their predecessors introduced it to southern Florida no later than AD 300, and Spanish explorers carried it to the Old World during the 16th century.
India is the world's leading papaya producer. In 2024, India accounted for 36% of the global total, which reached 15 million tonnes. The United States is the largest importer of papayas worldwide.
Papain is a cysteine protease enzyme found in the green, unripe papaya fruit and in the plant's latex. It is used to tenderize meat and other proteins, a practice carried out by indigenous Americans and people across the Caribbean, the Pacific Islands, and the Philippines. It is also an active ingredient in commercial powdered meat tenderizers.
A papaya ringspot virus outbreak struck Hawaii in 1998, threatening the industry. University of Hawaii scientists developed transgenic papaya varieties by inserting the viral coat protein gene into the plant's genome. By 2010-80% of Hawaiian papaya plants were genetically modified, and the university made the altered seeds available to farmers without charge.
Papaya plants grow as male, female, or hermaphrodite. Male plants produce only pollen and no fruit. Female plants produce small, inedible fruit without pollination. Hermaphrodite plants can self-pollinate because their flowers contain both stamens and ovaries, which is why almost all commercial papaya orchards grow only hermaphrodites.
A 100-gram serving of raw papaya pulp provides 43 kilocalories and is 88% water, with 11% carbohydrates and negligible fat and protein. Papaya is a significant source of vitamin C at 69% of the Daily Value and a moderate source of folate at 10% of the Daily Value.