America’s favorite apple, the Red Delicious, was first harvested in Iowa in 1874. Back then, Iowa was one of the country’s top apple growers. But if you live in Des Moines today, your apples probably come from Washington state, the source of more than half of the country’s crop. But there are a few important differences between a typical Red Delicious from an Iowa farm and its globe-trotting cousin from the Northwest.
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IOWA RED DELICIOUS |
WASHINGTON RED DELICIOUS |
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Average Distance From Farm To Shelf |
61 miles |
1,722 miles |
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Additional Packaging |
Put into bags or boxes for shipping |
Coated with carnauba wax or shellac to preserve freshness; “Washington apple” sticker applied; put into bags or boxes for shipping |
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Earliest On-Shelf Date |
Within 2 days of harvest |
Within 1 week of harvest |
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Cold Storage |
May be refrigerated for up to 2 months |
May be kept in sealed, reduced-oxygen, controlled-atmosphere storage for up to 8 months |
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Harvest |
September to October |
September to October |
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Availability |
No later than mid-December |
Year-round |
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Transportation Impact |
Shipping a pound of Washington apples to Iowa requires 30 times more fuel and releases 30 times more CO2 than shipping a pound of Iowa apples to a local market. |
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Sources: Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture; Washington State Apple Commission
