Market Farming

["Steve Gilman" <sgilman AT netheaven.com>]

Jay Gee wrote: 

I  too am uncomfortable with the term "authentic food,"
but mostly from a marketer's perspective.  What is
needed is a growers association controlled term
which can be trademarked and licensed to prevent
its use by unauthorized, non-compliant farmers.

This was the problem with term "Organic."....................

Absent a controlled term, one farmer's definition will
differ from another's and the public and farmers will
all suffer from confusion.
............................................................................


        Jay is right. However, there are two major sides to this problem. One 
is
that even if farmers can agree on a name, such as “Authentic”, somehow
standards have to be defined and created, held to and compliance verified.
The other part of the equation is consumer acceptance and the right to
freedom from fraud in the marketplace.
        Here in New York state, for instance some progress has been made in
creating an “IPM” label and educating customers about the sustainable ag
benefits of Integrated Pest Management. There has been limited acceptance
in participating supermarkets, however, because while the label advocates
scouting, bio-control, etc. it still allows for mega-pesticide use as a
last resort and that seems to be what consumers are most concerned about.
        Briefly, organic farmers took the route of creating meaningful 
standards
and ended up in the verification business. Consumers demanded
certification in the marketplace. Farmers wanted verification to prevent
fraudulant competition and a denigrating of the term “organic”. With 60
some certifiers across the country it was a only matter of time before
there was a call for consistent -- national -- standards. OMRI (Organic
Materials Research Institute) was created to verify the huge number of
production amendments and products all claiming to be “organic”.
Inspection groups formed to train personnel to conduct independent
inspections. The wholesale, interstate and international commerce business
had long required compliance -- the larger marketplace required
certification as a prerequisite for doing business.
        All this got big and expensive. The Organic Food Production Act, 
passed
in the early 1990s, had the support of organic farmers and consumers alike
from the beginning. When USDA butchered the first Rule, the agency was
confronted by a record public response to not water down the definition.
Here we are now, many years later, with the final Rule ready for
implementation and some people are just now wondering where gov’ment
involvement came from..... Blaming it all on the Big Boys just doesn’t cut
it.
        As a small-scale organic farmer, certified organic since 1990, I’ve
always believed that certification was necessary to protect consumers and
farmers alike. I reasoned that since I was marketing my produce as
“organic” my local farmers market customers, restaurant buyers and CSA
shareholders had a right to verification and indeed it gave me an edge
over others self-calling themselves organic.  I also wanted to support my
private, state-wide certification program, (fees and all) as well as the
good name of organic.
        A cautionary tale: The biggest sign advertising Organic Produce in the
county was at a farm outside of town. It wasn’t until the illicit toxic
waste dump in the back 40 caught fire and burned for 5 days, causing
neighbors to evacuate and firefighters to be treated for inhaling
poisonous fumes that authorities determined the owner had been accepting
illegal tractor trailer loads of hazardous materials from as far away as
Boston. The drivers would leave envelopes with $5,000 cash in a box on the
way out..... No joke. The owner went to jail. It also turned out in the
investigation he was buying produce at the wholesale terminal and selling
it as organic at the farm stand, while maintaining a small field for show
out front. Because there was no legal definition of Organic there was no
way to prosecute him on that one, however......
        There are many reasons not to certify. Some farmers choose not to 
have to
pay the fees. Others are too small. Some good and honest farmers have
always operated under their own recognizance, arguing their farms are
always open and customers can see they are indeed organic. When questioned
about particular practices some even argue their self-definition is more
organically correct than the certification version. For those not quite so
above board, the truth is, even with working CSA shareholders coming
repeatedly to the farm all the shareholders really know is what the
farmers tell them.
        Yes, the new USDA version of organic needs work but there are 
mechanisms
for input and change built into the system. Yes, it benefits big national
growers and processors but it also benefits local farmers selling
side-by-side at the farmers market or those competing in the same CSA
market. As always, certification is required in wholesale markets. Organic
is now a verified entity -- an “authentic” (or somesuch) food label almost
sounds ludicrous in comparison.

Steve Gilman
Ruckytucks Farm