Florida Orange Juice Faces Existential Threat

A new disease is attacking orange groves, and it has some Florida citrus growers talking about potentially catastrophic damage to the industry, according to USA Today. A worst-case scenario envisioned by some experts quoted by the paper has orange juice cost rising to a point that's out of reach of most Americans.

The Asian disease has a mild name -- Citrus greening -- but it has already spread to 27 of 32 Florida counties producing citrus fruit like oranges, lemons and grapefruit.

It is spread by an Asian aphid -- the citrus psyllid -- that was first seen in the United States in 2005. The disease can't be stopped, but growers are turning to pesticides to kill the bug. Once a tree is infected, it has to be cut down.

It's the latest example of an invasive species -- what some call "biological pollution" -- having a significant economic effect. Invasive species are foreign bugs, plants and animals that often run rampant where they are imported, because they lack natural predators. Often, the only way to prevent damage from invasive species is to prevent them from arriving in the first place.

COMMENTS ()