Thank the Lord for GPS

It sure helped me today as I negotiated the rollings hills of Adams County, Pennsylvania. Talking to John Rice of Rice Fruit Co. this afternoon, he said times are good for apple marketers. First of all, the California freeze had an immediate effect on demand, as buyers looked to drop in a bargain apple deal in place of orange promotions. A second positive is that the mix of varieties in the apple industry today is much more suited to consumer demand than a decade ago. Thus inventories move out to better demand at better prices than 10 year ago. Lastly, the use of SmartFresh has improved apple condition and quality to the consumers.

Rice said there is an internal conversation in the North America apple industry about the possibility of genetically modified apples being marketed in the next several years. At the center of this is a Canadian biotechnology company called Okanagan Biotechnology Inc. Check out their Web site here. Their Web site says:

The company's first commercial product, unique non-browning apple varieties, is ideally suited to the fresh-cut produce market. OBI has developed a technique to inhibit the Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) gene in apple to halt this browning oxidation reaction. Consistent with our precision breeding approach, we are using the silencing of an existing apple gene to develop new apple varieties that do not go brown when sliced, bruised, scuffed or bitten into.



The trait could be huge for the industry, and silencing a gene does not seem objectionable. It's not like breeders are using a catfish gene, is it? The soul-searching part of this discussion is this: Does the apple industry want to be the test case for biotechnology? Would it matter if the majority of growers don't want GM apples? I have to be believe biotechnology in fresh produce will be accepted by consumers within a few years, but I can understand the reluctance for the apple industry to be on the "bleeding edge" of GM fruit.