The Apple Club Newsletter

Spring 2005

After a cold February, spring has finally arrived as I write. I hope that the mild weather persists, and that you have some nice spring weather to go with our spring newsletter.

Genetically Modified Organisms

Genetically modified plants are plants that have been altered by the addition of genetic material from a source that would not naturally be available to them. Such modification or engineering takes place in the laboratory, using techniques developed over the past thirty years.
For instance, plants could have genes of another unrelated plant inserted into them, or could have genes from an animal or bacteria added to them. While this is unnatural, in that it does not happen in nature, it could be useful.
Crop plants could be engineered to tolerate difficult environmental conditions, which might make them more suitable for growing in arid conditions. Such a use could help to relieve famine.
The techniques used to take a gene, say from a fish, and place it into a plant are complex and random. The genetic material of the fish is chopped up into small pieces using enzymes. These are then mixed with bacteria that incorporate the genes into themselves. The bacteria are then introduced to a plant, and they donate the genetic material that they have taken from the fish to the plant. If the scientist is lucky, among the many fish genes incorporated into the plant will be the specific one that gives the characteristic that is wanted. Once one single transformed plant survives (and it usually takes thousands and thousands of attempts to get a transformation), that plant can be bred to spread the gene into a good crop plant of the same species.
The bulk of scientific evidence shows that eating food from genetically modified plants is not harmful to human health. So why are so many people against GMO’s?
From a farmer’s perspective there are probably three reasons.
The first is that genetic modification is in the hands of a small number of powerful multinational companies. The plants and seeds produced can be patented, and thus producers must pay whatever price is asked. Growers in the US have even been prosecuted by the GM seed companies for accidentally growing genetically modified crops and infringing patents.
The net result of the technology being in the hands of private companies rather than government agencies, is that instead of concentrating on public-good type projects like the famine relief example given earlier, profit-driven projects involving plant patents in the developed world are preferred. Therefore, genetic modification is contributing to food supply only in parts of the world where there is already an over-supply of food.
The second two reasons that producers are against this technology are environmental.
Plants that have been modified to resist pests, for instance in the case of cotton, have an effect on “non-target” organisms. While with standard cotton, a grower could decide to spray to kill a pest of cotton if it were present, this choice is now removed. The genetically modified cotton automatically produces the pesticide in its leaves, and now any animal that eats its leaves (even if it is an endangered species that does no significant damage to the cotton) will be killed. Instead of making the growing of cotton more environmentally-friendly, as you might expect if spraying of pesticides is reduced, the genetically modified plant is actually causing more damage, because the grower is unable to choose not to apply the pesticide, or cannot choose a time to apply it when least damage might be done.
The other environmental argument against GMO’s is gene release. In scientific trials, gene release from modified plants to closely-related wild species has been clearly demonstrated. The effect is that a gene which, in a history of plants dating hundreds of millions of years, has never been present in any plant, is now released into the wild environment. The effect of such a gene in the wild cannot be predicted and is irreversible. Thus it is argued that the benefits are not worth the risk. I for one certainly concur, and until GM technology is used for public good, I will be against the commercial introduction of such technology.
Despite the worries, and undoubtedly due to pressure from big business, the US government has sanctioned the growing of GM crops for some years, and the EU Commission is now heading in the same direction. This is despite the fact that about 80% of EU consumers are against GM foods.
So what can we do? For one thing, you can take control of the area around you, whether it is a home garden, farm, caf , shop or restaurant. You can get a GM-free zone sign, and put it up, in the process raising public awareness, and putting Irish politicians on notice that people are against GMO’s.
Signs for indoors and outdoors are available via the web at www.gmfreeireland.org.
Locally you can get them from Richard Auler, Ballybrado, Cahir (052-42816). Richard has a 40cm round aluminium sign for €26.75 which includes postage.
Earth day 2005 falls on April 22nd this year, and as part of the anti-GM food campaign, 1000 farms and businesses will be declaring themselves GM-free zones. Why not join in? Further information about steps that you can take is available at www.gmfreeireland.org.
Note: Medical biotechnology has much to offer in the advancement of health and medicine, without the potential downsides of inevitable gene release and other problems mentioned in this article. It is the view of most authorities that medical biotechnology has a positive contribution to make, and it is not being targeted by the GM-free food movement.

Our new orchard

In the past winter a new orchard was planted on our farm. It consists of six acres of Elstar apples, along with pollinators. The three different Elstar types are called, Excellent Star, Elshof, and Elswood. The pollinators are of the new disease-resistant varieties Pinova and Topaz.
While the project had been planned for some time, the actual work commenced last summer. At that time we began preparing the land by working the soil to be sure that it would not be too hard to dig when the winter came. We marked out where the lines of trees were to go, with a little mark placed where each pole would be. We borrowed a tractor-mounted auger from Derek O’Dwyer in Piltown, and used that to make the holes for the poles. These were put into the holes in the summer, and tapped in with a device we call “the man-killer”. This is a post driver that is used manually, and working with it for an hour is as good as a week in the gym. Once the poles were in, we needed to wait for the trees.
The best time for planting is winter, because the trees are fully dormant. We waited until the end of January, and then began planting, taking three weeks to plant about 5600 trees by hand. These were then tied to the posts, and little more needs to be done to them this year. They will not give any apples in the first year, but should begin in 2006.
One of the most interesting things about planting our new orchard this year was that it gives us a chance to try some apples we haven’t had before. This time, we managed to get single specimen trees of a selection of old varieties from a friend in Dublin. So we now have about fifty varieties of old apples on trial. I have about half of them listed here, and I will list the others in our forthcoming newsletter. If any of the names stir any recollections for you, especially how the specific apples tasted, and how best to grow them, I would love to hear about it.
Kingston Black
Tom Putt
John Standish
Golden Bittersweet
London Pippin
Irish Peach
Hoary Morning
Holstein Cox
Norfolk Royal Russet
Kerry Pippin
Lane’s Prince Albert
Court of Wick
Newton Wonder
Cats Head
Charles Ross
Ben’s Red
Brownlees Russet
Cockle Pippin
Adams Pearmain
Allington Pippin
Annie Elizabeth
Browne’s Apple
Cornish Aromatic
Morton Russet
Woolbrook Pippin

Recipe: Strawberry Shortcake

For the shortcake:
450g (1 lb.) flour
3 tablespoons sugar
pinch of salt
4 level teaspoons baking powder
225g (8oz.) butter
2 eggs
6 tablespoons of milk

Heat the oven to 220 C (425 F, gas 7)
Grease 2 x 20cm (8 inch) sandwich tins.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl; add butter in pieces and rub in with fingertips. Lightly beat the eggs, milk and sugar, and pour into the flour mixture. Mix to a rough dough with a fork.
Turn onto a floured surface and knead a little to remove any cracks. Divide dough into half and pat or roll each half into the tins and press gently to fit. Place in the centre of the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Strawberry filling:
450g (1 lb) strawberries*
some caster sugar
300ml (1/2 pint) of cream

Hull the strawberries and whip the cream and sugar together to taste.
Chop half the strawberries and mix into half the cream.
Spread onto the bottom layer and cover with the other shortcake. Press down lightly, and then spread remaining cream over the top and decorate with remaining strawberries.
* Instead of strawberries, you can use strawberry jam. When you do this, spread the jam onto the bottom layer of the shortcake, and spread the cream over it; cover with the other shortcake and dust with icing sugar.

Sport, By Willem Traas

Last time I wrote about St. Nicholas’s Day in Holland. That was just before Christmas. St.Nicholas is back in Spain now. I wonder what he does in summer?
This time I will write about sport. I could write about soccer, swimming, ice-skating or cycling. I will write about cycling, because that is the only one I do now.
You know by now that I was born in Holland. Most people there cycle. Even my mother-in-law who is 91 years old! There are special cycle paths along all the roads, so it is very safe.
When I was eight years old I got my first bicycle. I remember it well. My sister Corrie’s boyfriend got it for me. It cost 12 guilders (about the same as a pound in Ireland at that time, or just over one euro now). It had no saddle! My father strapped a jute bag on the bar, and it was a “doortrapper”. That means that you could not stop the pedals from going around. And it didn’t have rubber tyres either. Rubber was scarce in the wartime. So the Dutch made wooden tyres or put plastic piping on the rims. You never got a puncture, but the noise of the wheels on the ground and the shaking was terrible!
All the same, most young people had a bike and we had racing competitions almost every summer night. 10 times around the village (about 6 miles).
Laurence Foley from Carrick-On-Suir told me that they did the same here. And they went up Seskin’s Hill. That is very very steep. That is where Sean Kelly from Mothel village did his training. He became one of the best cyclists in the World.
Anyway, I cycle again now. Twenty years ago I cycled with Tom Ryan from Cahir. Up and down to the Half Way Bar. And we didn’t stop for a drink. Now I cycle with Clonmel Cycling Club. At first everyone there seemed to be named John. There are not many young people in the club. Only Jeff Heffernan and Tomas Neumann from the Czech Republic. But we cycle for enjoyment, and during the summer we have tours.
Last year I saw almost every part of Ireland, and I got a medal for it.
But I expect you as children to take your bikes out. You could even bring your bike to our camping ground when you call to us for fruit. It is safe there, and my grandchildren are learning to cycle too. 


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