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Tony & Joye Inzana
Mighty Mites ORGANIC FARMERS CAPITALIZE ON BUGS’ LIFE
lourishing, fragrant blossoms of orange, lemon, lime, yuzu and grapefruit trees infuse the morning air. Kiwi vines twist up arbors still wet with last night’s rain. For more than 39 years, Tony and Joye Inzana have tended this former dairy land south of Modesto, transforming it into one of the most diversely planted landscapes in our region. Sacramento residents can buy Inzana Ranch products from an online store, and the couple sells at several Bay Area farmers markets. Row upon row of almond, walnut, pecan, chestnut, pistachio, olive, cherry, plum, pluot, plumcot, apricot, fig, pomegranate, apple, quince, peach, pear, wine and table grapes, avocado, mulberry, blueberry, kiwi and more than 20 varieties of citrus line the ranch acreage. Each type of fruit gets represented by three to five varieties. Diversity equals not just options to tantalize the palate, but health and resiliency for the organic farm. I’ve seen the health impacts and environmental devastation caused by non-organic fruit and nut growing and processing. In the 1970s and early 1980s, when the introduction of pesticides, fumigants and herbicides took over the gardening and farming world, my grandpa and dad, both avid flower and vegetable gardeners, were exposed to harsh chemicals that caused their Parkinson’s disease. In 2008, I worked for the USDA grading raisins at a dried fruit processing facility in Vacaville. I saw how toxic chemicals such as methyl bromide, a neurotoxin that depletes the ozone, and sulfuric acid were pumped into fruit but ultimately hidden from consumers. Low wage and often undocumented workers were exposed to these toxins daily. Like many in our region, I passed orchard after orchard and witnessed the barren and dry land underneath nut and fruit trees, then watched the flooding of these orchards. Water doesn’t hold when soil lacks life. Many farmers use pre-emergent sprays and till until life-giving organisms are decimated. As a result of these sprays, our streams,
GM By Gabrielle Myers Photography by Aniko Kiezel FARM TO FORK
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