GUELPH, Ont. – Where now?
The question appeared to divide speakers at the Guelph Organic Conference earlier this year.
Toronto author Margaret Webb advocated a revolutionary “small is beautiful” approach that would replace the current marketplace with a new economy of “co-operation, justice and fair play.”
She said food can be democratized with distribution alternatives set up by community volunteers, municipal governments or school boards.
“Don’t wait for permission from government, just start them yourselves,” she said.
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“Our tax dollars support the kind of farming most Canadians don’t want.… It’s time to put forward a new vision of a totally organic Canada.”
Dag Falck and Gary Hirshberg, meanwhile, are working to build organics from within the dominant food distribution system.
Falck, organic program manager for Nature’s Path Food of British Columbia, said the challenge is to convince new consumers to try organic foods even it they don’t understand the principles behind them. From there, people can be educated through product packaging.
“The drive at Nature’s Path is to sell more cereal and convert more conventionally farmed land to organic … (but) if you compromise on your principles along the way, you’re on a slippery slope.”
Hirshberg heads U.S. yogurt-maker Stonyfield Organic of New Hampshire, which has been sold to the multinational corporation Danone. That may appear as a sellout to some and Hirshberg was criticized during the meeting, but he said Stonyfield benefits from being part of a larger company.
It now has $330 million in annual sales, sells more yogurt than Kraft and has an opportunity to expand its operations to Canada and overseas.
He said the deal with Danone also maintains Stonyfield as an autonomous entity capable of setting its own direction. The company buys milk only from small to mid-sized organic dairy farmers who pasture cattle in a substantive way.
“I agree with Margaret (Webb). We need a different system. It’s broken,” he said. “But we haven’t got the time to fix it. Capitalism isn’t going away.”
However, Webb said she sees a real need for change now.
Most Canadians would vote for organic production and distribution if they had the opportunity, she said, adding that the conventional food system is inherently flawed and dangerous.
During the research for her book, Apples to Oysters, Webb said she interviewed members of the organic and conventional food industries and found stark differences.
She said she found openness on the organic side, without exception, while members of the conventional food system tended to be secretive about their businesses. Webb listed studies that she said demonstrate the chemical and biotechnology risks of conventional agriculture.
Among these was the 2008 International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development report, which backs many of Webb’s views.
However, she did not mention that the report also acknowledged the merits of agricultural chemicals, fertilizers and biotechnology.
Ted Zettel, a former dairy farmer and long-time supporter of organic agriculture, brought another perspective.
“Local at this point of history is bigger than organic and legitimately so,” said Zettel, who advocates for fair returns for all farmers, regardless of their agronomic philosophy.
“Now don’t shoot me. As president of the Canadian Organic Federation, I will choose a local product over an imported organic product.”
