Artificial Apple Production in Fraiburgo, Brazil, 1958-1989

This article explores connections between the "domestication" of apples in Southern Brazil, the polemic on contaminated apples in 1989, and the reactions of the apple industry to the news published in the press on the use of pesticides in Brazilian orchards. The issue is viewed in the wider context of notions of toxicity and "danger", nature control, correction of nature, and temperate climate agriculture in Brazil, which have become very influential both in the public consciousness and in individual awareness, in connection with aspirations to healthier and safer food. The article states that apple producers' responses to the issue can be much better understood through a historical examination of the agroecology of the apple monoculture, as well as the structures, agents, and discourses informing perceptions of the environment in apple-producing regions.