"Maybe, consumers demand perfect food only because the ag industry has educated the consumers to demand for it!"
Claude, Obviously, I'm not a behavioral scientist but I think instead of "educated" in your quote, a better word would be "offered". That is, agriculture has continued to offer more attractive looking food. It seems to me the consumer drives it, rather than the other way around. Consider peaches for a moment. Modern peach breeders (e.g. Fruit Acres and Paul Friday) breed for color (among other things). This isn't a result of educating the consumer to accept redder peaches, rather people prefer them (sorta like robins). It seems to me desiring more attractive food is something inborn. Of course whether or not to use pesticides to enhance appearance is a mute point to me. By far, most of the pesticides I use on peaches are not for cosmetic purposes, but to prevent crop loss. Mark Angermayer Tubby Fruits ----- Original Message ----- From: "Claude Jolicoeur" <> To: "Apple-Crop" <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, July 25, 2010 12:36 AM Subject: Re: Apple-Crop: RE:..and causes you to be fat too! > Dave Rosenberger wrote: > >>>> > Unfortunately, American and European consumers demand food that is 100% > free of pests, blemishes, and contaminants > <<<< > > I think this is the key point! If there were no perfect fruit available on > the market, people would eat fruit that is not perfect. A spot of scab on > an apple really does not depreciate the nutritional value of the apple - > this is only cosmetic... > > For my part, the apples I grow are used for cider making, and a scabby > apple has exactly the same value as a perfect apple for this purpose. > Interestingly, when people come in my orchard, they happily eat the > non-perfect apples that I grow and find them very flavorful, and are very > happy to take a bag when they leave. However, when in the store or market, > these same people would not be ready to pay for a bag of imperfect apples. > Why??? > > Maybe, consumers demand perfect food only because the ag industry has > educated the consumers to demand for it! Would it be possible to go > backwards? And educate consumers to accept slight cosmetic imperfections in > the fruits and vegetable? If a slight scab lesion (or some other minor > defect) would not depreciate a fruit to near zero value on the market, > probably that the fruit industry could divide the pesticide use by a factor > of 2. > > Just some thinking from my part after reading these recent posts. > "Scusez-la" as we say in French... > > Claude Jolicoeur > cidermaker in Quebec. > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > The 'Apple-Crop' LISTSERV is sponsored by the Virtual Orchard > <http://www.virtualorchard.net> and managed by Win Cowgill and Jon > Clements <[email protected]>. > > Apple-Crop is not moderated. Therefore, the statements do not represent > "official" opinions and the Virtual Orchard takes no responsibility for > the content. > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 'Apple-Crop' LISTSERV is sponsored by the Virtual Orchard <http://www.virtualorchard.net> and managed by Win Cowgill and Jon Clements <[email protected]>. Apple-Crop is not moderated. Therefore, the statements do not represent "official" opinions and the Virtual Orchard takes no responsibility for the content.
