If Canadians want to buy local food, they need to support the concept of supply management.
That is the premise behind campaigns launched this spring by egg, dairy and poultry associations to protect the program that Canada has defended at every trade negotiation since the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was in place.
The campaigns emphasize how family farms working under a quota system can deliver fresh food to Canadians, said Alison Evans of Egg Farmers of Canada.
They hope to get through to consumers with slogans such as “Keep the ‘Eh’ in Eggs” and “Raised by a Canadian farmer.”
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“We are in an era now of being thwarted at every turn in respect to supply management by anti-supply management factions that are out there,” said Lisa Bishop-Spencer of Chicken Farmers of Canada.
“We are looking for avenues where we can tell our side of the story.”
The chicken farmers have signed contracts with Sobeys, Sunrise Chicken, Maple Leaf and Federated Co-op to promote the domestic label across Western Canada so consumers know they are buying Canadian.
“There may come a time where we need to amplify that program and say, ‘this chicken may not be Canadian anymore’ if things start going south,” she said.
The groups are also trying to convince their critics that supply management does not make food staples such as eggs, milk and chicken more expensive.
“Food is expensive, but supply management has nothing to do with the costs that people pay at retail,” Bishop-Spencer said. “The retailer will charge what the market will bear.”
Prices may be lower in some U.S. stores, but the chicken farmer groups have decided not to draw comparisons between themselves and the Americans.
Much of the chicken industry in the United States is vertically integrated, which means a few major companies contract with farmers to grow the birds, provide them feed and pullets and handle processing and marketing.
Evans said the groups have also surveyed consumers to see if they understand supply management and trade deals such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
“In 2013, we tried to understand to what extent the general public understands even the term supply management,” she said.
They found most people do not know much about it beyond what they read in the newspapers.
“We emphasized it enables Canadians to have fresh, local high-quality food,” she said. “Canadians assume their eggs would be from farms nearby.”
The egg farmers have relied more on social media and websites to tell their story, but chicken and milk producers have been more active in print and television advertising.
The dairy farmers launched a campaign a month ago talking about the “Milkle Down Effect” to explain their role in local communities, their contributions and how many jobs are created.
That campaign may be viewed at www.milkledowneffect.ca.
