Apples from China!

I noticed today that the Apple and Raspberry Juice we bought from the Coop says that it contains apples from either Europe or China. Now, this struck me as pretty shocking. England is renowned for its apples and the idea that we should be importing apples, for juice, from China, seems ludicrous. Especially as the Coop brands itself as 'Britain's largest farmer'.

A quick bit of research shows that I am somewhat behind the times. In 2002, Friends of the Earth was highlighting that British Supermarkets were failing British apple growers. A year later an article in The Guardian was talking about the crisis in the British apple industry.

And apparently, China is a bit of a super-power in terms of apples - in 2008, 870,000 tonnes of fresh apples were exported from China.

Apples orchards were once part of the English countryside. The loss of apple orchards not only impacts on our local economy, but reduces the number of insects supported. This includes bees, the loss of which is a puzzle and a major threat - Albert Einstein once said that if the bees disappeared, "man would have only four years of life left". Which brings me back to the Co-op, because they claim to be pretty supportive of the bees.

I will be writing to the Coop to ask them about importing apples from China, and will post back any reply I get.