Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/481870
12 APRIL 1, 2015 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com More Arctic apples in the pipeline Okanagan Specialty Fruits plans to submit more GMO apple varieties for deregulation within the year. by Richard Lehnert I t has been virtually certain for two years that the United States government would deregulate the two genetically engi- neered Arctic apples created by Okanagan Specialty Fruits of Summerland, British Columbia. With deregulation of Arctic Golden Delicious and Arctic Granny Smith apples announced in February, the company is turn- ing to other varieties. OSF will submit Arctic Gala and Arctic Fuji for deregulation in the United States sometime within the next year, Neal Carter, company president, told Good Fruit Grower. And this time it expects the review to be more streamlined as it uses the same approach to introduce the non-browning trait in all Arctic varieties. Good Fruit Grower conducted the following email interview with Carter to learn more about the future of Arctic apples. Q : How have apple growers responded to the prospect that they might themselves grow these Arctic apples? Your team has talked to grow- ers at several horticulture shows; have growers lined up to plant the trees? A : There has been excellent response with many growers throughout the United States and Canada expressing interest in planting Arctic apple trees. We have limited trees—roughly 25,000—for 2015 and we are allocating that inventory and lining up orders for 2016 and beyond. Q : How do you envision Arctic apples coming to market? (If you were to look five years down the road, where might consumers find Arctic apples? Would they be able to identify them easily? How many bushels might be produced each year?) A : We have interest from members in the apple industry throughout the supply chain from grower to consumer. As fruit comes to mar- ket, test marketing will be conducted in all market segments, which will determine market emphasis. It is our plan to double tree plantings each year. Q : Should Arctic apple growers be concerned for their own safety or the security of their orchards and take measures to keep locations secret or orchards fenced? A : When it comes to safety, we would certainly not want to take any concerns lightly. However, there are about 18 million farmers growing biotech crops worldwide, and the number of incidents involv- ing crop destruction is very low. Further, when activists have sought to do damage, they have typically opted for high-profile field trials. Q : Will Arctic apples be available to growers who want just a few trees and may want to buy them through nurseries that cater to backyard growers? A : At this time, we want to get as many commercial trees in the ground as soon as we can so that we have meaningful quantities to introduce into the market. Down the road, selling smaller numbers of trees may be considered. Q : How do you think Arctic apples would fare in a direct market situation, commonly used by Eastern U.S. growers? A : We think Arctic apples would be very well suited to a direct market situation! We've repeatedly found that the more con- sumers learn about Arctic apples, the greater their interest. So, in situations where con- sumers could purchase Arctic apples directly I ntrexon Corporation, of Germantown, Maryland, a company focusing on synthetic biology products, has agreed to acquire Okanagan Specialty Fruits (OSF) of Summerland, British Columbia, the company that created the non-browning Arctic apple. The announcement came February 27, just two weeks after the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service deregulated Arctic apples and set growers free to plant and market the fruit. The two apples are Arctic Golden and Arctic Granny. Intrexon Corporation was founded in 1998 to focus on what it calls synthetic biol- ogy to create biological products including foods, drugs, fuels, construction materials, and others. With the acquisition, it will expand its food programs to include trees yielding fruit that is more appetizing and convenient for consumers while providing economic benefit throughout the tree fruit supply chain, the company said in a press release. Neal Carter, founder of OSF, said joining forces with Intrexon and applying their combined technical know-how would be an important step to introducing beneficial products for consumers and growers. Okanagan's stockholders will receive $31 million in Intrexon common stock and $10 million in upfront cash. Neal Carter will remain with the company. The deal is expected to be finalized in June. Intrexon to acquire Okanagan Specialty Fruits for $41 million "We've repeatedly found that the more consumers learn about Arctic apples, the greater their interest." —Neal Carter