Cleaning up Central

"Life in the 21st century is so heavily bathed in chemicals..and the search for reassurances has become increasingly ardent" - Thursday's Southland Times editorial focuses on fruit, in particular apples grown in Central Otago under the Apple Futures banner and the implications for all food crops grown in New Zealand. The editorial fudges the ideas of safe food a little, opinining that the initiative (Apple Futures) is something of a political response to market perceptions, rather than a real clean-up of chemicals on our fruit, but nevertheless lauds the moves to significantly reduce chemical use in orchards in Central Otago, Hawke's Bay and Nelson. The author talks of massive markets for 'organic' products and rightly says it extends far beyond the pipfruit area. The care taken with the word 'organic' is due to the fact that the methods proposed for the industry are partial, rather than full, and represent reduced application, rather than zero use. No detectable chemical residue is different to no chemical use, but it is a step in the right direction. The support for the new approach is at tempered with the claim made at the beginning of the article -"New Zealanders and our markets are already assured that we produce extremely safe fruit", but there is enough light showing for the supporters of an 'organic nation' to feel encouraged.