You are here.
Food Labeling & IPM
What is Food Labeling?
Food labeling is an effort to educate consumers on how their food is grown, harvested or processed. One such label is an IPM label, which signifies that the food was grown using IPM practices. View Lyn Garling's 60-second talk on "What is Eco-Labeling?" (from Penn State's Extension Minute).
IPM and the Private Sector
Overview of the marketing advantages of using IPM labeling (From "Program Bulletin," a monthly newsletter published by the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences)
What is an Eco-Label?
An eco-label is a label or logo on a product that gives consumers information about the environmental, agricultural, or social impacts of what they buy, which in turn can help people make better informed choices in the marketplace. ~ CoreValues/Mother's and Others
What are the IPM Labeling "Commodities" in PA?
Apples
While most PA Apple growers follow some form of IPM tactics, a new labeling effort has developed. CoreValues, has partnered with apple growers in the Northeast (yes PA) to supply many stores with apples that are grown using IPM methods.
Mushrooms
Pennsylvania Mushroom growers are developing IPM guidelines (elements) which will be used as a standard in growing and selling IPM mushrooms.
Fresh-Market Sweet Corn
Some sweet corn farmers in the NE part of the state are using IPM standards in their production to a BIG advantage. An agreement between Wegmans grocery store and some PA sweet corn growers is turning into an important IPM effort. Wegmans sells fresh locally grown sweet corn that is "IPM" grown and exclusively grown for them. The farmer gets recognition for his product, has an exclusive market and sells a great product. The grocer educates the consumer on the "benefits" of using IPM.
See Cornell's Role in IPM Labeling (NY State web page)
Tomatoes
Pennsylvania growers are developing IPM guidelines (elements) which will be used as a standard in growing and selling IPM processing tomatoes. Growers have been working with Furman's to develop an IPM label.
Partnerships Involving Food Labels:
Wegmans has formed partnerships with Cornell, Penn State and some local growers to support IPM. Through IPM, growers strive to limit the amount of chemicals they apply to their farmland by taking other steps to reduce pest damage and care for the land. IPM fields get fewer pesticides; exactly how much depends on the crop and the time in question.
Here are some examples:
- IPM fields for frozen and canned sweet corn, on average, get 50% less pesticides than conventionally grown fields
- Green beans and cabbage fields get 30% less.
- Pesticides are used only when pests trigger a pre-determined "threshold level" -- one which, if exceeded threatens significant damage. The amount of pesticide used can change from year to year, but what's important is that, overall, fewer pesticides are used.
Core Values - A partnership between Mothers & Others for a Livable Planet (a national, non-profit consumer advocacy and environmental education group) and apple farmers in the Northeast region that was established to create a supportive market environment for farm products that are locally grown and ecologically-responsible. They have also created an eco-label for fruit grown regionally by farmers utilizing biointensive IPM methods.
Protected Harvest is a collaboration of the World Wildlife Fund, the Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association, and the University of Wisconsin, who has independently developed a certification program for farmers using stringent environmental growing standards (like IPM) and an eco-label. Currently this program is only for potatoes but should be expanding to other crops soon.
Stemilt Growers Inc., a fruit growers' cooperative in Washington state, has offered its customers apples, cherries and pears grown under their "Responsible Choice" program, which requires documentation of growing practices, as defined by Stemilt, to ensure responsible environmental stewardship. Fruit from Stemilt is labeled with a ladybug logo, like the one shown here for apples.