GMO or Heritage Apples
Food Chain Radio Show #973
Michael Olson, Author & Urban Farming Agriculturalist
HOPE IN HERITAGE APPLES
Should we hold on to seeds of the past?
Guest: Farmer & Organic Pioneer, Amigo Bob Cantisano
Given our recently won ability to re-engineer life, the future looks like an apple that will not spoil.
GMO Apples or Heritage Apples? Food Chain Radio with host Michael Olson and guest Farmer & Organic Pioneer, Amigo Bob Cantisano
In fact, Canada’s Okanagan Specialty Fruits has submitted a Granny Smith apple genetically re-engineered to resist browning to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency for approval. The hope, one suspects, is that the re-engineered apple will sit unspoiled on a grocer’s shelf for however long it takes for someone to buy it.
With this ability to re-engineer life, the future would indeed seem to hold much promise. We note with interest, however, some are looking to the past, instead of the future, for hope. Among them are members of the Felix Gillet Institute.
Well over a hundred years ago, horticulturalist Felix Gillet imported, bred, and introduced most of the commercial fruit, grape, and nut varietals to America’s West Coast. Many of Gillet’s introductions are still popular sellers, while others provided the genetics for the breeding of even more of today’s top varieties.
Members of the Felix Gillet Institute, led by the charismatic pioneer of organic agriculture Amigo Bob Cantisano, wish to preserve Gillet’s heritage introductions by establishing a mother orchard in which all would be allowed to grow in commercial-free peace. This effort leads us to ask…
