New Apple Forgotten Fruits Manual Now Available Free Online

RAFT Alliance Launches National Initiative to Recover Endangered Heirloom Apples and Bring More Varieties Back To Our Plates

BROOKLYN, New York – March 16, 2010 - The Renewing America’s Food Traditions (RAFT) alliance (http://www.raftalliance.org) today announced the launch of its "Forgotten Fruits" initiative. The inaugural project will focus on apples earmarking at least 90 endangered apple varieties in each region for recovery to our orchards and farms, so they can again be enjoyed in restaurants, cideries and kitchens.

In addition, RAFT has christened 2010 as the "Year of the Heirloom Apple" to engage food communities in the restoration of apple varieties and culinary traditions specific to their regions. A key component of RAFT’s apple initiative is release of The Forgotten Fruits Manual & Manifesto – APPLES, a brochure that builds upon the collective knowledge of more than a dozen of America’s most experienced heirloom apple experts. The brochureis now available as a free download at http://www.slowfoodusa.org/index.php/programs/raft_detail/resources/.

The large-scale loss of apple diversity is a threat to our cultural heritage, and negatively impacts our health and environment. RAFT partners are concerned by statistics such as the following, which illustrate the severity of the decline in apple culture and diver sity in America seen over the past half century:

• Of the 15,000 to 16,000 apple varieties named, grown and eaten in North American, only about 3,000 remain accessible through nurseries
• Roughly nine out of ten apple varieties historically grown in the U.S. are at risk of falling out of cultivation and falling off our tables
• One variety, Red Delicious, now comprises 41 percent of the entire American apple crop
• Eleven common varieties comprise 90 percent of all apples sold in chain grocery stores
• Much of the apple juice, puree and sauce consumed in the U.S. are now produced in other countries
• As the overall number of apple trees in cultivation declines to a fourth of what it was a century ago, the number of apple varieties considered threatened or endangered has peaked at 94 percent

Despite these statistics and the economic downturn, he irloom and antique apple varieties are being successfully marketed at many of the 5,000 farmer’s markets and 2,500 community-supported agriculture (CSA) projects across the U.S. As part of the RAFT initiative, heirloom apple varieties targeted for recovery have been identified in three out of six regions, and these lists will soon be available on the RAFT web site.

To find out ways you can support and celebrate the Year of the Heirloom Apple, visit http://www.raftalliance.org.

About Renewing America’s Food Traditions (RAFT)

RAFT (www.raftalliance.org) is an alliance of food, farming, environmental and culinary advocates who have joined together to identify, restore and celebrat e America’s biologically and culturally diverse food traditions through conservation, education, promotion and regional networking. The RAFT Alliance is managed by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, Chefs Collaborative and Slow Food USA. The RAFT Alliance was co-founded by Gary Paul Nabhan, Ph.D.