| We’ve all noticed the "Natural Foods" section in chain grocery stores, boasting organic snacks, toothpaste and cereals. Perhaps there is even a small corner of the produce department dedicated to pesticide-free apples, celery and lettuce. But the reason it’s there is because we, as consumers, have demanded it. It seems like all the negative attention surrounding genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and varying food crises is having an impact on shopping patterns, thus causing an increased popularity for organics – and that’s a good thing. Mostly.
Laura Telford is the executive director of Canadian Organic Growers (COG), the largest national organization dedicated to promoting organic agriculture in Canada. With 15 chapters across the country, COG is noticing that the popularity of organics is on the rise, even though they’ve not yet been able to quantify it.
"We do have anecdotal reports from our wholesalers in different parts of the industry who are telling us that they’re seeing up to 20 per cent growth between years and this has been going on for awhile," says Telford.
While organics is a small percentage of the entire agriculture industry in Canada, the fact that it is a growth industry is reflective of many factors. People are concerned about their health, the environment and also social justice, in that many farmers aren’t making enough money because they are in competition with wealthy corporations.
"Organics is about good system design," says Telford. "That means you take into account people and animals and nature in designing it."
The environmental benefits are almost immeasurable. Living soil, drinkable groundwater and sustainability are only a few of the positive side-effects of organic agriculture, but many consumers are choosing the organic route for taste and health reasons. While not wrong in doing so, there is much more involved in living organically.
If you are a regular visitor to Community Natural Foods, one of several local grocery stores that specialize in natural and organic options, you might have noticed the signs in the parking lot that state "No Engine Idling Please." The fact that these signs were put up in the first place leads me to believe that many drivers were leaving their cars running – and they were.
Paul Kelly, health and bodycare project manager of the locally owned and operated store, says that while everyone is welcome – SUV drivers included – perhaps ironically, people would be sitting out in the sun, eating their organic snacks and breathing in diesel and gasoline fumes.
"We do have to realize that our environmental footprint can be minimized through organic food," says Kelly, "but it also has to transcend into other areas of our lives."
Driving to specialty shops is not the only transportation we need to be concerned with, however.
"Because there’s so much wealth in organics – there’s so much growth and you can charge an organic premium on the food – the biggest growth is happening with the big companies," says Telford.
Although large companies may be able to keep prices low by taking advantage of large-scale cultivation and distribution, they’re not necessarily using sustainable agriculture practices or minimizing their impact on the environment. "They’ve got their systems already set up and it involves big transportation, it involves a cheap food system."
Steven Snider has been a certified organic producer for 20 years and is also the chair of the Alberta organization Going Organic (GO). GO started last year and was intended to build a support group to link producers and consumers and anybody who is interested in the organic industry. The group is also keen to educate our communities and potentially take on the role of liaison between different levels of government and the organic industry. While there is growth overall in the organic sector, economics has quite an impact on producers.
"Unfortunately, the production side seems to follow the trends and prices of conventional grains," he says. "When the prices on conventional sides drop, we seem to pick up numbers of organic producers because producers are frustrated. They’re trying to keep their farms viable and they’ll take a look at the organic industry and then when the conventional prices rise again, we’ll see a certain percentage disappear."
"Most of the talk around the stable is the worry of the corporatization of organic agriculture," says Snider.
Companies like Pepsi, Nestle and Frito Lay all have organic product lines because it is such a cash cow. Given the choice between regular Pepsi and organic Pepsi, I would choose the organic stuff, but given the choice between organic Pepsi and a neighbourhood soda company with a similar product, I’d go small because I believe the point of buying organic includes localized spending and supporting your regional producers. Wealthy companies do have a quicker response time when it comes to demand, so perhaps the smaller organizations just need some time to catch up.
"We wanted to have CSAs (community supported agriculture), we wanted to have farmers’ markets, we wanted to have all these things," says Telford. "But what is really happening is that organic food is grown in these big mono-cultures in California. It’s moved by trucks across the country and it’s forcing the price of food down – local farmers aren’t making any money.
"The strawberries that you get from California taste like cardboard because they’ve had to plant a particular variety that can be harvested early and last through that long of a shipment and storage process."
Despite the challenges, Snider remains positive.
"The consumer is continually looking for ways to assure themselves of their safe food supply and the one that seems to be the most exciting to them is actually know the people who are producing it. That has market value in and of itself," he says.
"I think the greater vision (of GO) is to make sure that we inform people and start forming those alliances and convincing people that what we have is something they may be interested in purchasing."
Another rising trend in this busy culture, as Kelly points out, is the increased purchase of prepared organic foods, which not only use more packaging but also offer fewer of the benefits associated with whole foods.
"People don’t seem as willing to make things from scratch as they used to," he says. "It is a convenience-driven culture for sure."
That said, Kelly is not convinced that there are negative impacts to the rise in popularity of organic foods and products.
"As long as you’re choosing products based on ecological principles and health principles," he says, "the more popular it is, the better."
According to COG, 90 per cent of the food Canadians eat comes from outside the country, but Telford is optimistic that will change.
"We’ve gotten people to eat organic food – now I think the next step is local organic food."
To find out more about the Organic Certification Bodies across Canada and around the world, visit www.cog.ca/cb.htm. |
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