September 9, 2007 (San Diego, CA)

Independent. Verified. Scientific. Key words that describe the role of Protected Harvest as they champion the mission of “Earth is our Bottom Line.” Protected Harvest of San Diego, CA continues to foster their goal of environmental stewardship as an independent and technically directed organization. Partnering with producers, scientists, retailers, government agencies and environmental groups, Protected Harvest serves as a credible voice for sustainable agriculture and most recently earned an $800,000 grant from the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation.

To date Protected Harvest has secured nearly $3.5 million dollars in research funding and grants to develop comprehensive programs that address issues related to environmental standards in the areas of soil, water and air quality, preservation of habitat, management of energy inputs and reduction of chemical use. The Protected Harvest initiatives for sustainable agriculture have included work in a variety of commodities including Wisconsin Potatoes, Lodi (California) wines, California strawberries, California Stonefruit (peaches, plums and nectarines), California Citrus and most recently mushrooms.

The role of Protected Harvest is to serve as a third party organization that works with producer groups to develop and monitor environmental standards for sustainable production. Each group must work with the technical and scientific staff of Protected Harvest to develop a sustainable agriculture plan that includes realistic and verifiable measurement tools. All new growers must be certified and all acreage must be re-certified each year. With the start of the 2007-2008 California Citrus season pending, Protected Harvest has citrus producers recording their sustainable agriculture practices to prepare for audits that determine their eligibility to carry the Protected Harvest seal. Notable citrus producers in the developing Protected Harvest Program include Sunwest Fruit Company of Parlier, CA and Sunny Cove Citrus of Orange Cove, CA.

On their relationship with Protected Harvest, Dean Thoensen, General Manager of Sunwest Fruit Company commented, “This program offers us the opportunity to be environmentally proactive, socially responsible and economically viable. Protected Harvest understands the importance of creating not only a scientifically credible program, but also a dynamic process that constantly evaluates new science and technology that helps us bring safe and affordable fruit to consumers.”

With a growing awareness of environmental issues, producers and consumers alike seek opportunities to be good environmental stewards. In July of 2007, the Produce Marketing Association conducted research on the effect of social responsibility related to consumer purchases of fresh produce. 55% of all consumers surveyed reported that social responsibility was a very important factor in their purchase decisions. When the same consumers were asked to qualify their perception of the social responsibility of produce companies they felt that only 13% of produce companies are socially responsible. Protected Harvest offers an opportunity for producers to bridge this gap with consumers and offer products that have a positive impact on the environment and the consumers who purchase them.

“Producers who work with Protected Harvest find multiple benefits to analyzing their environmental footprint. Not only are there environmental benefits; producers often see increased efficiency in their production and a better understanding of the ecology of their farms. We believe that sustainable agriculture should address not only basic production issues, but long term education issues for both producers and consumers,” remarked Dr. Daniel Sonke, Director of Technical and Scientific Programs for Protected Harvest.

Governed by a board of ten distinguished environmental leaders and stakeholders from the scientific and agricultural communities, Protected Harvest works closely with agriculture producers to proactively develop and customize programs that are environmentally impactful, but also economically feasible. An example of this collaboration can be found in the results from the Wisconsin “Healthy Grown” Potato program that helped to reduce environmental impact by over 37% in just three years.

For more information on Protected Harvest, or to become a member producer, please visit www.protectedharvest.org or contact Protected Harvest at 209-838-6451.

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