My experience with the thousands of customers that we have had over the years is that once they form a perception of something, whether it be GMO's or organic vs conventionallly grown products, they stick to the preception that the media has given them. I now simply tell them that the best way to know what is in the fruits and vegetables they eat is to "buy local and know your grower"! Talk to your grower and ask them what they use on the crops they grow. That's the only way the fruit and vegetable consumer will know for sure......providing they are told the truth. Here at Royal Oak Farm Orchard in northern Illinois, we use a biointensive IPM program and have a brochure to give to customers at farmer's markets and here at our u-pick operation that educates them to IPM and the fact that we have a goal to protect our native pollinators and our customers from harmful products. Those of us who have an audience with the buying consumer have an opportunity to educate the consumer in many ways and they will listen. I have explained GMO's to many customers whose response was almost always, "I didn't know that!"
Sure, it is time consuming to talk to customers at length , but that is one of my primary roles here at the orchard. Well, along with many others! We hold various workshops for home growers on IPM and dialogue regualrly on our Facebook fan page about organic vs conventionally grown products, GMO's and the EWG. We share posts from the http://www.safefruitsandveggies.com/ web site and others around the internet. All of this takes a lot of my time, but as Alfonso de la Pena (played by George Hamilton in the movie One Upon a Crime) says, "It's what I do!" (Said with French accent!!!) Our customers are our life blood and if they don't trust us, we won't be here for long! Dennis Norton IPM Specialist/Certified Nurseryman Royal Oak Farm Orchard 15908 Hebron Rd. Harvard, IL 60033-9357 Office (815) 648-4467 Mobile (815) 228-2174 Fax (609) 228-2174 http://www.royaloakfarmorchard.com http://www.theorchardkeeper.blogspot.com ----- Original Message ----- From: Shoemaker, William H To: Evan B. Milburn ; Apple-crop discussion list Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2014 7:20 AM Subject: Re: [apple-crop] apples and chemicals I agree with Evan. The reputation of GMO technology is horrendous. While you can criticize the public as much as you want about that, it won't improve their view of GMOs generally. The industry took the ill-advised (and arrogant) approach that they shouldn't have to educate the public or be open with them about "Our" technology. They essentially imposed it on the consumer. I think this crisis in confidence among consumers about GMO food products could have been predicted and avoided. The Flavr Savor tomato should have taught the GE industry that lesson. I would suggest that you can't force feed the marketplace. Ironic that some of the leaders of the effort to have "free and open markets" are the very ones who cry foul over the idea that foods with GMO content be labeled. Bill William H. Shoemaker Retired fruit and vegetable horticulturist University of Illinois wshoe...@illinois.edu ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: apple-crop-boun...@virtualorchard.net [apple-crop-boun...@virtualorchard.net] on behalf of Evan B. Milburn [ebmilb...@yahoo.com] Sent: Monday, May 05, 2014 7:51 PM To: jon.cleme...@umass.edu; Apple-crop discussion list Subject: Re: [apple-crop] apples and chemicals Jon and grower friends, After reading the article "Monsanto is going organic", continue down and read the comments by the public. These too are our customers. Do we want comments like this toward our apple industry? We has growers certainly know that GMOs are harmless and may well have a place in our industry in the future, possibly in disease or insect resistance. However, do we need this kind of publicity now. All it takes is for some famous Hollywood star to tape an interview blasting our great industry. AGAIN Remember Alar! Evan Milburn www.milburnorchards.com On Monday, May 5, 2014 7:17 PM, Jon Clements <jon.cleme...@umass.edu> wrote: I posted this a while back (http://www.mail-archive.com/apple-crop%40virtualorchard.net/msg02437.html), but probably worth re-visiting. I found it very interesting. JC http://www.wired.com/2014/01/new-monsanto-vegetables/ On Mon, May 5, 2014 at 11:51 AM, Fleming, William <w...@exchange.montana.edu> wrote: The way to beat the GMO controversy, merited or not, is to use genetic mapping to find plants with desirable traits then cross them into the targeted crop with conventional breeding. I've talked with several anti GMO folks who have no problem with this method but you still can be sure it won't please everyone. Bill Fleming Montana State University Western Ag Research Center 580 Quast Lane Corvallis, MT 59828 -----Original Message----- From: apple-crop-boun...@virtualorchard.net [mailto:apple-crop-boun...@virtualorchard.net] On Behalf Of Silsby, Ken Sent: Monday, May 05, 2014 8:23 AM To: Apple-crop discussion list Subject: Re: [apple-crop] apples and chemicals In January, I happened to attend a "standing room only" presentation on communicating about GMO crops at the Mid-Atlantic Convention in Hershey, PA. The speaker was from the Center of Science in the Public Interest. Their web site posts a 24 page bulletin on the subject at the link below. The bulletin provides a good review for those who are in position to discuss the issue with the public. Link to "Straight Talk on Genetically Engineered Foods": http://cspinet.org/new/pdf/biotech-faq.pdf Thanks. Ken Silsby Eastern Technical Manager, Apples Mobile: 716.471.5383 | Fax: 716.204.8065 ksil...@agrofresh.com http://www.agrofresh.com/ -----Original Message----- From: apple-crop-boun...@virtualorchard.net [mailto:apple-crop-boun...@virtualorchard.net] On Behalf Of Shoemaker, William H Sent: Monday, May 05, 2014 9:04 AM To: Apple-crop discussion list Subject: Re: [apple-crop] apples and chemicals I don't know the answer to this question. I'm curious about it too. I also wonder how much of that kind of work is in development. I doubt anyone knows as so much of it is done in the private sector. But I remember conducting trials of pumpkins in the '90s on some virus-resistant GMO pumpkins that derived their genetic material from a different species within the cucurbit genus. I believe it was a wild species that was incompatible for an intergeneric cross. We really need such resistance but it was withdrawn because of perceived market risk. Bill William H. Shoemaker Retired fruit and vegetable horticulturist University of Illinois wshoe...@illinois.edu My question is this: does anyone know how many of the GMO crops/organisms that are currently approved for food crops actually involve genetic transfers among widely-separated species as compared to the number of GMOs that involve only modifications of genes within plants or the addition of virus coat proteins from viruses that are already commonly found in the plant species of interest? _______________________________________________ apple-crop mailing list apple-crop@virtualorchard.net http://virtualorchard.net/mailman/listinfo/apple-crop _______________________________________________ apple-crop mailing list apple-crop@virtualorchard.net http://virtualorchard.net/mailman/listinfo/apple-crop _______________________________________________ apple-crop mailing list apple-crop@virtualorchard.net http://virtualorchard.net/mailman/listinfo/apple-crop -- Jon Clements aka 'Mr Honeycrisp' UMass Cold Spring Orchard 393 Sabin St. Belchertown, MA 01007 413-478-7219 umassfruit.com _______________________________________________ apple-crop mailing list apple-crop@virtualorchard.net http://virtualorchard.net/mailman/listinfo/apple-crop ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ apple-crop mailing list apple-crop@virtualorchard.net http://virtualorchard.net/mailman/listinfo/apple-crop
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