Cranberries: Bogged Down in Water and Pollution

How Are Cranberries Grown?

The tart little berries are grown all over the northern United States and parts of Canada, and are increasingly being grown commercially in Chile. Top cranberry producing states in order are Wisconsin, Massachusetts and New Jersey, followed by Oregon and Washington. Other growing states include Delaware, Maine, Michigan, New York and Rhode Island.

Contrary to popular belief, cranberries don’t grow in water (picture those two Ocean Spray guys standing knee-deep in a bog full of cranberries). Instead, they grow on vines in wetland conditions, and the wetlands are then usually flooded at harvest time. Cranberries need a lot of fresh water and have a growing season that stretches from April to November. Cranberry vines go dormant in the winter months, which provides time for the fruiting buds to mature. Undamaged vines will survive indefinitely, so they don’t need to be replanted every year.

While there are some dry harvest cranberry operations, 95 percent of production happens in flood-harvest bogs. The plants are tolerant of temporary flood conditions so growers use flooding as a tool to protect the plants in winter, to control pests and to harvest the cranberries (hence the popular image). Over 60 percent of all processed cranberries go to Ocean Spray, a private cooperative comprised of over 700 independent growers.

The harvest typically lasts from September through November. During the harvest the fields are flooded with up to a foot and a half of water that is stirred, causing the berries, which have tiny chambers in them filled with air, to separate from the vines and float on the surface. The fruit is then scooped up and sent for processing into juices, sauces, dried cranberries, as ingredients in other processed foods and for nutraceuticals. All of the flood-harvested fruit is processed because wet harvesting encourages fruit to spoil quickly, so only dry-harvested cranberries are sold fresh.

How is Cranberry Growing Regulated?

The cranberry craze of the 1990s, while good for growers, had the unfortunate consequence of turning a lot of natural wetlands into cranberry bogs. It was also during the 90s that the US Army Corps of Engineers started regulating growers by classifying cranberry bogs as wetlands, which require permits for certain activities. For example, filling in a portion of a wetland to create a dam would require a state-administered permit. Most activities in cranberry production, however, are unregulated.

Similarly, farm runoff is typically not regulated under the Clean Water Act, as it would be for other industries, because agricultural runoff was exempted from the Clean Water Act in 1977 and it is typically considered “non-point source” pollution. Most regulation of cranberry production runoff happens at the state level and varies state-to-state, or occurs through voluntary adherence to BMPs on the part of growers.

Buying Better Cranberries

Look for fresh (and therefore dry-harvested) cranberries at the farmers’ market and even in grocery stores (you can freeze them for later use). In addition, look for USDA Certified Organic cranberry products (like juice, craisins and cranberry sauce), which are, admittedly, harder to find in stores but are more plentiful in online searches. Familiar brands include Santa Cruz, Lakewood, Pacific, Newman’s Own, R.W. Knudsen and 365 Everyday Value (Whole Foods’ brand). This list is by no means exhaustive, and with a little searching and some specific requests, you might be able to get your market to order some of these organic cranberry products for you.