Good Apples: Behind Every Bite

by Susan Futrell

Apples are so ordinary and so ubiquitous that we often take them for granted. Yet it is surprisingly challenging to grow and sell such a common fruit. In fact, producing diverse, tasty apples for the market requires almost as much ingenuity and interdependence as building and maintaining a vibrant democracy. Understanding the geographic, ecological, and economic forces shaping the choices of apple growers, apple pickers, and apple buyers illuminates what’s at stake in the way we organize our food system.

Good Apples is for anyone who wants to go beyond the kitchen and backyard into the orchards, packing sheds, and cold storage rooms; into the laboratories and experiment stations; and into the warehouses, stockrooms, and marketing meetings, to better understand how we as citizens and eaters can sustain the farms that provide food for our communities. Susan Futrell has spent years working in sustainable food distribution, including more than a decade with apple growers. She shows us why sustaining family orchards, like family farms, may be essential to the soul of our nation. 

Genres: Food

262 pages, Paperback

Published September 1, 2017

Reviews

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short review: four stars because I love everything about this book except that it can get on a rambling tangent once in a while.

Long review: APPLES!!!!! I love apples!! I am eating an apple right now! I also love food history!! And this is basically the whole food history of apples!!!! What a book! I am in love! I have been truly romanced!!!!!

But seriously. Very well done book about the past, present, and potential future of apple production. Lots of food history tidbits in the first few chapters about the start of apple crops in America. These beginning chapters lead into chapters about the science and horticulture behind actually growing apples, crops, and harvesting, which eventually give way to several chapters about the business (and sociological/political aspects) of apple farming.

Awesome, awesome book. If you are passionate about the best fruit in the world, food history, the inside scoop on modern food production, or just want to read seasonal autumn books, check out "Good Apples" by Susan Futrell.

[Brice Fuqua · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading Good Apples, I am at a loss as to why anyone would devote their lives to commercial apple production. Futrell details the many challenges faced by today's apple farmers: insect and fungal attacks , vagaries of the weather, fickle consumers, government red tape, ect. And yet, the farmers we meet in Good Apples are united by their passion for growing apples and their love of the land. These folks are willing to take great risks to provide fruit for consumers who are blissfully unaware of the challenges that must be overcome for apples to arrive at their local market. As the author points out, apple farming is not like growing vegetables or grains. Trees require years to develop, so apple production is an expensive, long-term commitment.
Futrell takes a middle of the road approach to the issue of chemical pesticides and antibiotics. She shows that consumers who expect perfect specimens without the use of chemicals at a reasonable price are being unrealistic. While acknowledging the dangers of indiscriminate pesticide use, she makes a compelling case for localized, limited spraying and antibiotic use to prevent widespread destruction of orchards by increasingly ravenous pests.
One of the most effective chapters is on the temporary workers who pick apples during the harvest season. This section shows how badly our immigration policies need to be updated. Growers struggle to find enough qualified workers to harvest their apples. The workers are not protected adequately from exploitation and the government enforces immigration laws unevenly.
This book is recommended for anyone who loves apples, is interested in the environmental impact of farming or who enjoys a story of underdogs succeeding against the odds.

[Stacie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do you have a favorite apple? Have you ever thought of the work and care that goes into the planting, harvesting, and selling of the apples? Susan Futrell’s book takes readers through the history of the very first apple tree to the now over 2,500 varieties of apples available to consumers all over the world.

Futrell’s background in writing, marketing, sustainable farming and a love for apples combined in a perfect challenge to share the journey of an apple from a seed to a tree to our grocery stores and finally to our tables. Through meticulous research and visiting with apple growers all over the US, Futrell shares the stories of family orchards as well as major corporations providing our apples. There are also those heartbreaking stories of families watching as the trees they planted with love were bulldozed to make room for roads, housing, or other farming land.

After reading about the numerous issues that can arise during just one season of apple growing, it’s a wonder to me how we have any apple growers left. Growing apples goes far beyond planting a tree and includes the intricacies of trimming trees and the biology of grafting branches together to create new varieties to meet market demand. There is a whole chapter on the delicate science of managing pests. Many insects have become resistant to chemicals but growers have to be careful to not use too harsh of chemicals that will turn off the anti-pesticide consumer. Of course, no one wants to buy an apple with a bug inside or brown spots, but consumers are also very vocal about the desire to have organic and pesticide-free apples. This makes for a tricky balance for apple growers to keep grocers and their customers happy.

As if the difficulty of keeping pests away from the apples weren’t enough, growers are constantly trying to find employees willing to do the hard work during the harvest season. Many of the orchards turn to immigrant workers and this does not come without obstacles, including ever-changing government restrictions.  Apple growing has become a multi-faceted business that leaves many growers saying it just isn’t worth it anymore.

One of the most interesting pieces of the book happens early on when the author shares her story of nearly buying an orchard at an auction. As I followed along with the auction proceedings, the anxiety built and I had this incredulous feeling of wondering what the author was going to do with an orchard. The orchard is purchased by another family and I breathed a sigh of relief, one not nearly as big as the author or her husband, but what it did show me was the passion and heart the author has for family orchards and sustaining that piece of the food chain.

This book will offer readers a new insight into what goes into owning an orchard and appreciating the abundance of apples available at our local grocery stores. It also offers readers a chance to see a connection between supporting local farmers and growers and what it takes for those products to actually appear in our stores and farmer’s markets. I don’t think you will be able to take a bite out of an apple and not wonder about the person who first planted the very seed or grafted that branch that led to the creation of the apple you are eating.

To see my interview with the author, check out the post on my website - http://www.sincerelystacie.com/2018/0...

[Ann Hein · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess I'd have to say that this book contains more than I really wanted to know about apples! However, it was quite educational and thought provoking. Here are some facts: Apples originated in Kazakstan. No seedling tree produces the same fruit as its parent. The apple has more genes than we do. Aldi's is mentioned in the book because they came to America by buying a grocery distributor in Burlingtion, Iowa that distributed apples when it was founded in 1950. In 2005, McDonald's Corporation became the largest user of applies in the U.S. We now import applies and apple juice from China. And most of all, I learned that raising apples is not easy...growing, preventing damage from insects, selling, transporting, picking. And there is a chapter for all of them.

[Anelyse · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author's twin goals are to inspire an appreciation for all that goes into growing apples and an understanding of what consumers can do to build a better food system. Although it's not an academic book, Futrell uses archival data and interviews with actors throughout the US apple industry, with a focus on farmers.

One of the things I appreciated most is how Futrell explores the complexity of ecological management practices among orchards that are not certified organic. Often, farms are lumped into either "conventional" or "organic." This can give the false impression that all organic farms follow environmental best practices, while obscuring the wealth of ecological practices on many non-organic farms. Through case studies of pesticides such as Alar and antibiotics in the apple industry, Futrell shows how rigid consumer demands for chemical-free yet unblemished apples can result in unintended drawbacks for farmers, eaters, and the environment.

When it comes to analyzing race, immigration and labour in the apple industry, the book's middle-of-the-road standpoint provides hits and misses. It misses the opportunity to acknowledge the history of industry lobbying against legislation to strengthen farm workers' access to health, safety, and democracy. Likewise, the book would have been strengthened by a profile of at least one orchardist explicitly identified as a person of colour, or a discussion of why there are comparatively few. Good Apples proposes that amid polarization on issues like immigration reform, finding common ground is "the only way forward." But conciliation is just one tool in a polyculture of non-violent strategies to advance progressive social change. Which possibilities for a more just and sustainable food system might be foreclosed by the idea of a single path forward?

Overall, I found this book illuminating and enjoyable. It shows what should be appreciated about apple production, and also what needs to change.

My full review is here:
https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/IC...

[Sammm]

A digitized ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.