Video by Alec Opperman and Eric Schuman
America’s biggest berry empire doesn’t actually grow berries. A whistleblower alleges the Canadian government repeatedly flagged Driscoll’s berries for exceeding pesticide limits.
TRANSCRIPT
ALEC OPPERMAN, MORE PERFECT UNION: Is produce getting worse?
TRISTAN KWONG: This tastes like an unripe tomato
OPPERMAN: That’s what I’ve been hearing, especially about berries. But — I’ll be honest — I’m skeptical. So I wanted to put this idea to the test.
TRISTAN KWONG: I could crush like 55 of these. No problem.
ADDISON POST, MORE PERFECT UNION: This one tastes more grassy. This one tastes like…
OPPERMAN, TO POST: And is grassy a good thing or a bad thing?
OPPERMAN: I started out with a simple question: If fruits and vegetables are getting worse now, who’s to blame, and what can we do about it? It led me to the heart of a berry empire whose produce you probably encounter in most grocery stores, and a disturbing conversation with an insider who worked for them.
DAVID HARADA, WHISTLEBLOWER: [Produce companies] had gotten rid of their own internal audit systems from the food safety department.
OPPERMAN: And to all kinds of ways that agricultural giants are stacking the deck against American farmers —
HUGH KENT, BLUEBERRY FARMER: We’ve gotten away from a place where innovative, intelligent, hardworking farmers can make a living.
OPPERMAN: — while remaking the food system in ways that land on all of our plates.
The story starts with [HUGH KENT] — a blueberry farmer — but you won’t find his blueberries in any supermarket, and I wanted to know why.
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That “driscolls” branding might as well be an American flag. Easy to spot and leave on the shelf to rot. Thanks driscolls.