cross posted at annoyedomnivore.wordpress.com
One Bad Apple
Posted on January 7, 2014 by Annoyed Omnivore
You, apparently, have not been eating your share of apples. Each person in the United States used to consume about 20 pounds annually in the 1980s. Current consumption is down to about 16 pounds. A Canadian company, Okanagan Specialty Fruits, has decided that this moderate rejection of the apple is due to the fact that it turns brown. Neal Carter, the founder and president of the company, which is based in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, claims that a whole apple is “for many people too big a commitment. If you had a bowl of apples at a meeting, people wouldn’t take an apple out of the bowl. But if you had a plate of apple slices, however, everyone would take a slice.” Those slices, however, need to remain white to be appealing.
Apple slices are already becoming more popular, even sold as such in bags in grocery stores and in Happy Meals at McDonald’s. Current industrial methods to prevent browning include coating them with vitamin C and calcium, although this apparently alters their flavor. Okanagan Specialty Fruits wants instead to alter the genetic make-up of at least the Golden Delicious and Granny Smith apples, and re-label them as Arctic Apples. If they are allowed, the Arctic Apple would become one of the first GM whole foods, as most genetically engineered food is processed. The method by which the apples would be altered involves the insertion of a synthetic gene that reduces production of polyphenol oxidase, the enzyme responsible for browning.
Food Democracy Now! believes that using a new “gene silencing” technique could interfere with the expression of genes in humans, even silencing vital human genes. They express concerns on the “utterly useless cosmetic genetic alteration to the GMO apple and the untested new genetic engineering technique” used to create the apple. They go on to say that “even worse than the silly cosmetic artificial gene alteration of the GMO apple, is the new genetic engineering technique, known as RNA interference (RNAi) which has undergone no rigorous safety assessments and rightfully has scientists concerned about serious unpredictable environmental and human health food safety risks. Recent scientific studies have shown that double stranded RNA used in RNA can remain intact through the digestive process, enter the bloodstream and cells and effect gene expression in ways that have not been thoroughly investigated.” Arctic Apples would be not be labeled as such or regulated, and are expected to be approved by the USDA this year.
The debate surrounding the Arctic Apple exposes more than one danger. Non-organic apples are already on a list (the Dirty Dozen) for both the volume and vast array of pesticides currently found on them. According to Pesticide Action Network’s analysis of the most recent USDA data, apples tested positive for 42 pesticides, including organophosphate and pyrethroid, both of which are considered especially toxic for children. Organophosphates are the basis for nerve gases used in chemical warfare. The chemical compound that is used to shut down the browning process in apples also acts as a pest repellent. If the apple’s ability to fight off pests is compromised, growers will then need to spray even greater amounts of more toxic pesticides on top of the 42 already present. Recent studies have shown that during apple season, children exhibit spikes in the level of pesticides found in their urine, spikes that exceed the U.S. government’s safe levels.
Aside from health and environmental concerns, there are economic consequences to the rest of the apple industry. Many apple growers fear that approving an unlabeled GMO apple would cause foreign exports to plummet as well as consumer rejection. Organic and conventional apple orchards would also face genetic contamination from Arctic Apple pollen. The B.C. Fruit Growers association has even called for an “immediate moratorium” on Okanagan’s production, saying “there is potential market damage caused to apple markets if this GMO apple is approved…The public thinks of apples as a pure, natural, healthy and nutritional fruit. GM apples are a risk to our market image.” The apple industry in the U.S. also opposes the GMO apple, with the U.S. Apple Association, the Washington State Horticultural Association, the Washington Apple Commission, and the Northwest Horticultural Council all against its approval. According to Chemical & Engineering News, however, “no genetically engineered crop has ever been denied deregulation,” and if approved, Okanagan Specialty Fruits is set to put GMO cherries, peaches and pears on the market.
Neal Carter thinks that his opponents in the industry are simply scared of “anything that’s going to compete with their outdated methods. New things in the fruit and produce business, that’s the reality, and these growers associations need to get their head out of the sand and realize that. We speak in this country of innovation, but every time it happens people get worried and paranoid about it.”
I think it’s perfectly reasonable to be paranoid about an unlabeled and untested product that would compound the already demonstrated dangers of eating conventionally produced apples. Get your head out of the sand and eat only organic.
Every week my mother would make a pot of soup from scratch, using whatever leftovers and scraps of vegetables were available to her. Soup is generally cheap, nutritious and easy to make. I made a simple soup of potatoes and spinach that was quite satisfying, even if not that pretty to look at.
Spinach, Potato and Cheddar Soup
2 russet potatoes, scrubbed and chopped
2 bunches fresh spinach, washed and chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
five or six stalks of celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
lots of black pepper
salt to taste
two cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1.5 quarts chicken stock
Heat a little olive oil in a soup pot and saute onion, carrot, tomato and celery until onions are translucent. Add garlic and cook for about a minute. Add potatoes. Add spinach and cook down. Add stock, pepper and salt and simmer for about 45 minutes. Puree and add cheddar. Check for salt and serve.