Journalists dedicate an incredible amount of time to quotes. We’re obsessed with getting a “good quote” in an interview or pulling one memorable quote from a 35 minute speech.
But journalists also pay attention to what isn’t said.
And what isn’t being said within Canada’s organic industry is worthy of a 3,000 word story.
Over the last five weeks I have interviewed or listened to at least 20 organic farmers, businessmen, leaders of organic associations and organic specialists with provincial governments.
Many of them talked about the need to increase Canada’s output of organic wheat, soybeans and other crops because North American production isn’t meeting demand. North America represents approximately 50 percent of the global market for organic foods, but the U.S. and Canada produce less than 25 percent of the world’s supply of organic grains.
Read Also
Agriculture needs to prepare for government spending cuts
As government makes necessary cuts to spending, what can be reduced or restructured in the budgets for agriculture?
Canadian organic merchants are increasingly dependent on imported grains and oilseeds to fill the void, as they can’t find what they need in Canada or aren’t willing to pay $28 a bushel for organic milling wheat.
What’s wasn’t mentioned, in all those interviews and presentations, is the associated threat to organics’ glossy reputation in places like Montreal, Chicago and Vancouver.
Organic grain imported from the Black Sea region might be just as safe and nutritious as Ontario organic grain, but perception is king in most industries and reigns supreme in the food business.
Further, millions of Canadians are choosing to buy local meat, vegetables and grains at farmer’s markets or direct from a farmer.
Considering the power of local food and the perception risk related to imported soybeans from India, a couple of questions come to mind:
•   Would a young mother in Tofino, B.C., or a baby boomer in a Toronto condo be willing to pay $7 for loaf of organic bread if they knew the “organic” wheat came from Ukraine, a country ranked as one of the most corrupt in the world?
•   Would shoppers at a Calgary Safeway question the safety and value of $6 organic eggs if they knew the hens’ feed was imported from China?
Besides the obvious risk to organic sales, relying on imports from countries with questionable oversight is a recipe for a food safety disaster.
Organic milling wheat from Kazakhstan may be perfectly free of mycotoxins, but the potential of one bribe and one errant shipment must keep organic leaders up at night.
If a dozen Canadians got violently ill from that wheat, the organic industry would be on the defensive for years.
Still, it’s possible that none of this matters.
Organic devotees may not care about the origins of their breakfast cereal, and sales of organic foods might continue to grow at double-digit rates.
It’s assumed that buying organic is an expression of support for a set a farming practices and philosophies. Maybe that assumption is dead wrong. Maybe organic is simply a protest vote against the perceived evils of pesticides, GMOs and Big Ag.
If that’s the case, imports are irrelevant because organic consumers must truly believe that conventional wheat from Saskatchewan is absolute poison and organic wheat from Moldova is pristine goodness.
