According to an article on KSDK.com, Washington state had a bumper crop of apples this year. Awesome, right? Well, apparently not, because supply outweighed demand {combined with a 3 week labor issue that limited exports}, so now, excess apples are being dumped back into the fields and left to rot/compost.
I suppose donating to a major food bank would have been too difficult? BOOOOO! I’m glad they are letting them compost at least and provide something from all of the effort it took to grow them. Still, it kills me that we grow plenty of food to feed our nation {and beyond}, and yet, we have to dump perfectly good apples back into fields. Something just feels a little off about that?!
Maybe they did donate a ton of apples, the article doesn’t say, but the massive scale of food waste still kills me…Does this annoy you as much as it annoys me?
~Mavis
BTW, thanks to Martha for passing this article along!
Jenn says
I wonder when they have a bumper crop like this if they allows people to come in and pick the unwanted apples for a discounted price? I for one, if I lived in Washington would be all over that so I could make some extra applesauce.
pamela sheppard says
This is a really sad story. With all the hungry people in the world something like this happens to food. Things like this happen where I work. While not food….massive amounts of perfectly good items get thrown away every day.
Sherry says
Really sad to see so much go to waste when so many go hungry. I just can’t understand this world sometimes.
Sarah says
My folks lease their land near the Oregon/Washington border and its presently in red delicious. It’s my understanding there has been a surplus the past two years; my parents’ lessee still has apples from last fall in cold storage.
However–at least in my parents’ valley–apples and probably cherries were devastated by a hail storm recently, so they’re anticipating an apple shortage this fall. No surplus for them this year.
Melissa says
I live in WA ST. When I read about this in our local paper, it made me sick. According to the article I read, the apples sat waiting on the docks to be exported. The labor dispute delayed shipments for more than 3 weeks because of the backlog the dispute created. Since the apples were not refrigerated while waiting, they were beyond even being able to be sold for sauce or juice. Very sad. The upside is they are now composting farmland.
PAMELA says
Especially when the price of apples in Canada are super expensive. Clearly we could deal with a little more supply but for some reason that is not being allowed to happen.
Colleen B says
With cider being such a big thing these days, and microbrewing of said cider being so trendy, how were these not turned into cider? it seems like that would have been a reasonable thing to do with apples that were going alcoholic in the time honored way.
Hrmph. Wasteful.
Michelle says
An expanded article on the issue – http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/may/29/washington-apple-growers-dump-fruit-fields
I am also a Farmers Market manager in Port Orchard. We have an Eastern WA farmer who does sell apples at the Market. When I spoke to him last week, he let me know that within the next couple of weeks they will be bringing in fresh apples, not stored ones. I’ll be asking him how his family’s farm has been affected by this.
gardenpat says
There is an apple orchard we frequent here in Ohio that have a certain late afternoon/ early evening each week designated for the public to pick any Apple “drops” for free! That way, their orchard doesn’t have rotting apples on the ground and when there have been windstorms that have emptied some trees, people come quickly to pick them and are thrilled to take them home and make applesauce, apple pie filling, Apple juice and dried apples!
Seems like a Win-Win situation for everyone and certainly creates good will for their orchard business!!!
Em says
That’s a great idea! I would have dehydrated as many as I could!
Jess says
I live in SE WA and and haven’t even heard of this. How frustrating! Though I understand as a previous commenter said that they weren’t fit for eating but leaving them in the dock for 3 weeks is insane. They should have just given them away after the first few days.
Regarding food waste, there’s a local supermarket that buys up all the “imperfect” apples (and other produce) and sells them super cheap. I love all the crazy looking produce!
JC says
Yes times a million. I live in NY state and I know that many places ship cider into the state, which has always really set me off because we always have so many apples go to waste. The whole food supply chain needs to be rethought.
Kristina says
I don’t think a lot of farmers have the insurance coverage to allow the public onto their land to pick up windfalls. Here in CA, I think you would also be required to have handicapped bathrooms if you sell to the public (not a common thing on your average farm).
I don’t think it’s considered good food safety practice to make anything out of already-rotting produce. Sounds like it’s the fault of the port labor situation. I’m sure those farmers would love to make something good out of that situation. Remember, they only get one paycheck per year, and when they don’t get it, that’s it ’til next year. It’s just too bad, but part of the business when you’re dealing with a perishable product.
Heidi P says
What a bummer. There is so much you can do with apples plus they are so good for you. I wish I had some as we had someone come and prune our two mature apple trees while we were gone for spring break and what can I say……? They won’t be producing for many years to come. They did such a butcher job that if I sent in a picture you would laugh your you know what off. We stood in our living room window in a state of shock the first time we saw them. Live and learn people:)