Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/751050
www.goodfruit.com GOOD FRUIT GROWER DECEMBER 2016 79 "It's not going away," says Neal Carter of Okanagan Specialty Fruit. by O. Casey Corr I n 1999, Neal Carter got a decidedly unpleasant taste of the controversy he would ignite in the fruit industry. That year, while vacationing abroad with his family, he got a call that a news crew had showed up at his orchard in Summerland, British Columbia, a verdant, mountainous place where orchards, vineyards and evergreens plunge toward Lake Okanagan. Carter's apple orchard normally would contribute to the beauty, but not on this day. Vandals had crudely severed 652 trees just steps in the snow from his front door. The vandals wanted to make a point against geneti- cally modified (GMO) fruit, which they knew was Carter's business, and they alerted the news media to their action as a means of showing solidarity with protestors in Seattle at the World Trade Organization meeting. The vandals were never caught. Carter not only felt a sense of personal violation, but he also recognized what he sees as the ignorance of his critics. None of the vandalized trees were genetically modified; the protesters instead had hacked ordinary Galas. Carter's modified trees were elsewhere. But in his mind, his critics just refused to recognize that science was on his side. He is unshakeable in his belief that genetic modification will change the fruit industry for the better, creating a profitable new category for fruit growers and nutritious, delicious food for consumers. Carter today presides over an expanding company, Okanagan Specialty Fruits, that has gained government approval in the U.S. and Canada for sale to the public of genetically altered Arctic nonbrowning apples. (Arctic Granny Smith and Golden Delicious already have been deregulated in the U.S., and a similar application for Arctic Fuji has just been approved.) Arctic apple plantings have expanded; his company is preparing to develop other GMO varieties and later seek approval for GMO cherries and pears. Progress accelerated in 2015 when Intrexon Corp. bought Okanagan Specialty Fruits, adding resources to Okanagan's development and mar- keting. Carter now runs Okanagan as a 10-person wholly owned subsidiary of Intrexon, a public company based in Germantown, Maryland. Intrexon calls itself a leader in "synthetic biology" with investments in health, environ- ment, food, energy and consumer products. For all the progress, however, Carter and his products remain intensely controversial. Development of GMO food has triggered voter initiatives in different states, relentless criticism from environmental and consumer groups, and legislation in Congress. In July, President Obama signed into law a measure that would require labelling of GMO ingredients. Within the fruit industry, prominent growers such as Ralph Broetje of Prescott, Washington, unsuccessfully pleaded with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to decline deregulation of Carter's Arctic apples, whose polyphenol oxidase, the enzyme that causes apples to brown, has been "silenced" by manipulation. In a 2013 letter to the USDA, Broetje expressed fear of a consumer backlash that would TURBO 96 • Turbo 96 2-PT • Dome deck • 8-ft. cutting width • Adjustable offset w/cyl. • Cutting height 1.5 to 12" w/cyl • Blade overlap 4" • Divider box center: 120 HP; outboard: 110HP • Blade tip speed 17,004 FPM • Cutting capacity 2.5" • Side skirt .25" x 10" RHINO TURBO SERIES ROTARY CUTTERS VALLEY TRACTOR & RENTALS 4857 Contractor's Drive • East Wenatchee, Washington 509-886-1566 • 1-800-461-5339 YAKIMA IMPLEMENT & IRRIGATION 1922 S. First Street • Yakima, Washington 509-452-5867 • 1-800-572-2239