Wisconsin's potatoes will begin carrying the World Wildlife Fund's panda bear logo after growers worked out a unique agreement with the conservation group.
While many in the industry shake their heads over what appears to be an oil/water mixture, Wisconsin potato growers are taking a bold step to align themselves with the environmental group.
The Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association, University of Wisconsin Extension and World Wildlife Fund culminated the agreement. The legal document grants a license to qualifying growers to use the well-recognized panda on their products.
According to Saran Lynch, WWF's director of agriculture pollution prevention, it has its roots in a WWF report on risks to biodiversity in the Great Lakes Region. The WWF recognized that agriculture was one of the greatest sources of pollution in the Great Lakes, hence the effort to find and identify reduced-risk alternatives.