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November 2, 2006 at 1:46 am
I went to a local apple orchard yesterday to enjoy the beautiful fall day. It was warm and sunny and there was still some color left on the trees. This is a favorite spot to get fresh picked apples, fresh apple cider, pumpkins and other fall fare. I asked about their use of pesticides and if they ever thought of going organic. The information I received was very interesting.
He told me they have, in fact, considered turning at least one of their orchards organic, but decided not to because “people don’t buy organic apples.” I questioned why, because I would. He told me that the apples that are grown without pesticides and chemicals are imperfect. They may become misshapen because of growth around an insect, worm or disease, or get a “scab”, a rough spot on the skin where mold had hit it. It doesn’t affect the taste or quality of the apple, but people do not like the looks of it. Have we become so used to things “looking perfect” that we don’t know what natural apples look like?
I had to empathize with the grower. They do need to make a living. Perhaps there is a way these cosmetic “problems” can be improved upon in a way that is not using chemical pesticides. He did assure me that they spray only 4 times a year and that they stop in mid-August. I’m not sure what the “industry standard” is for apples that are shipped across the country. In any case, I was still buying local, which is a great benefit to the environment, and supports local economy. And the apples are picked at exactly the right time for perfect taste and ripeness. This once a year quality experience cannot be matched. I look forward to late October for my favorite apple, Ohio’s own, Melrose. Perfection!
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I can appreciate Judy’s love of fresh fruit and cider from a local source, but I would venture to say that until a grower puts the market to the test, saying that people won’t buy organic apples because of cosmetic imperfections is a lame excuse.
Even companies as “environmentally incorrect” as Target and Walmart have recognized there is big money to be made and are jumping on the organic bandwagon, proving that people are wising up in record numbers to the benefits of organic and the dangers of conventional foods… and we’ll take apples with blemishes any day over those grown and sprayed with pesticides!
Comment by Debra — November 2, 2006 @ 3:25 pm
I agree completely with Debra! As I type this comment, I’m munching on a cosmetically near-perfect and perfectly delicious hand-picked organic Granny Smith apple from the U.S. –certified by QAI and priced about the same as conventional apples. We Canadians are fortunate to have a local supermarket (Loblaws) that has its own line of very reasonably priced organic produce (“President’s Choice Organics”)! On the down side, much of it is from the U.S. Whenever possible I shop at the farmer’s market for local organic fruits and vegetables.
Comment by Blake Wilson — November 2, 2006 @ 4:10 pm
While we all admire those who would buy organic apples for only the sustainability aspects of their organic character, they remain the very small minority.
The rapid growth of the organic market is made of people who buy organic products that can closely compare to their regular natural product counterparts quality. Having to trim, peal and cut out sections of an apple they have historically eaten as is won’t happen. They will spend their organic hedge amounts (difference in cost between natural and organic) on vegetables and fruits that require much higher levels of pestisides to grow and can keep their aesthetic levels equal (or close) to the regular items.
That is why breads (cereals), milk, eggs, etc. are the mainstream high dollar volume items that most organic buyers choose; they don’t create any aesethetic or use value loss.
Not that consumers can’t be further educated, but this problems extends to oranges and many other crop materials. We can’t lose the mainstream organic buyers who financially support the “movement” and we can’t expect the farmer to put his crop in the stores only to have his materials passed over.
Comment by Jim Shafer — November 2, 2006 @ 6:12 pm