Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
The ABC, like other state authorized commodity organizations, can
only take on activities for which it has official approval. Chris Heintz
reports that the ABC has to serve the industry as a whole, and cannot
engage in market development for any environmental value-added prod-
uct. She said: “the industry has been opposed [to a BIOS eco-label]
because they think the whole industry is BIOS. Our entire industry is
biologically integrated, so why make a big deal about creating a niche?”
The pear processing industry in California is much smaller relative to
the almond processing industry. There are only a handful of pear proces-
sors, and they all know each other personally because pear production is
geographically concentrated in four small regions. (Recall figure 6.1.)
Pear growers prefer to sell to the fresh market because it is more prof-
itable, so the processing companies work to maintain good relationships
with the growers because they need a safe and consistent flow of food
products. The jointly funded Pear Pest Management Research Fund,
which supported the Randall Island Project, is an example of this coop-
erative approach.
Many canned pears are sold under brand names, such as Gerber and
Del Monte. Both of these companies are well aware that they profit from
the public perception that their brands offer a superior product, and they
have expanded their definition of quality to include food products grown
with relatively more agroecological production techniques. Gerber is
particularly sensitive to food safety issues because its baby food sells for
a premium because of the confidence mothers (and their mothers!) have
in its brand. Its entire customer base turns over every year, so nourishing
consumer confidence has to be integrated into its business plan. In the
words of Nick Heather, director of product safety at Gerber: “we live
and die by consumer trust.”
Gerber spends about $250,000 a year across the United States to fund
research and pest monitoring that will reduce the use of hazardous
pesticides and increase IPM skills among their regular growers. Gerber
has spent roughly $2 million over the past two decades, much of it
on pheromone research for tree fruit, in what they think of as a “supple-
mental extension service” for growers with whom they have a
long-standing relationship. Heather justifies this expense in part because
Gerber has instituted a program of traceability for food products
through its processing run. Heather and Gerber know they cannot draw
