Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
coffee subscription program employed by the Community
Agroecology Network (CAN).
In the second type of extended network, traditional
retail channels are used, but links are eliminated from the
distribution chain, and growers are guaranteed a much
higher rate of return than they would get selling their
coffee in the mainstream commodity market. An example
is the Fair Trade Certified coffee for sale in many U.S.
food stores and online (Figure 23.8).
Both types of networks can provide consumers with
knowledge about the circumstances of the production, dis-
tribution of the product, and how it contrasts with that of
the global food system. CAN, for example, sends sub-
scribers a regular newsletter with information about the
growers and their cooperative, and news about the global
coffee economy. In this way, consumers are educated
about the importance of their choices, and are connected
with the growers. In addition to providing growers with a
decent wage, AFNs focused on the coffee trade empower
growers to use sustainable, low-external-input practices,
such as growing coffee plants under the shade of the
modified rainforest canopy.
A common local-identity label is developed for
local food products, to help inform consumer
choice, and to promote the local food identity
at the same time.
The produce at food stores and supermarkets is
labeled with its origin, whether it is local or not.
Thematic tours of local farms and producers are
arranged for both local residents and tourists.
F ACILITATING I NFORMED C ONSUMER C HOICE
The face-to-face contact between consumers and farmers
at farm stands and farmers' market is an ideal occasion
for sharing of understanding, farming practices, con-
sumer desires, mutual needs and beliefs, and so on. In
AFNs without opportunities for one-on-one communica-
tion, the major issue — in terms of democratic flow of
information — is consumer education. The consumer
needs to have available information that will allow him
or her to make informed choices. This is equally impor-
tant outside of AFNs, where it helps to challenge the
abuses of the global food system and the alienation of
the consumer.
Various means of facilitating informed consumer
choice have been developed by consumer groups, organi-
zations of farmers, extended alternative networks, and
governments. In a bioregional context, labels of origin can
help consumers distinguish local from nonlocal food, and
become more aware of the difference. In the global food
market, certification labels have become an important
means of educating consumers. The U.S. government's
certified organic label, and the Fair Trade certification
mentioned above are two examples. The simple existence
of such labels raises consciousness of the fact that con-
sumer choices matter.
Promoting Local Food
Farmers' markets and community-CSA form the basis of
an alternative local food system, but they are not likely to
replace the traditional distribution and retail system. For
this reason, it is important to change this system from
within and have it concentrate as much as possible on
local food. In any particular agricultural bioregion, many
food retailers, restaurant owners, and managers of institu-
tions serving food may be open to purchasing more of
their food from local farmers, dairies, breweries, and other
producers. In doing so, they may be able to reduce costs,
increase their customer base, and stimulate the local econ-
omy. A small but growing number of restaurants and
retailers in the U.S. and Europe have demonstrated the
economic viability of serving or selling food that is almost
entirely local in origin.
A coordinated campaign promoting local food can
gain the support of chambers of commerce, business
organizations, merchant's associations, farm bureaus,
and the like. It can consist of any of the following
elements:
FROM CONSUMERS TO FOOD CITIZENS
In our discussion of natural ecosystems in Chapter 2, a
consumer was defined as an organism that ingests other
organisms (or their parts or products) to obtain nutrients
and food energy. Economics texts define the consumer as
one who acquires goods or services, or simply a buyer.
Neither of these definitions is adequate for describing the
role that a buyer and eater of food must play in a sustain-
able food system. We need a different concept, one that
points to the “consumer” as informed, responsible, and
engaged. The term food citizen does the job well. Accord-
ing to Jennifer Wilkins, food citizenship is “the practice
of engaging in food-related behaviors that support, rather
than threaten, the development of a democratic, socially
and economically just, and environmentally sustainable
food system” (Wilkins, 2005).
People can practice food citizenship in many ways.
We must first think about the food-system implications of
Farmers form cooperative arrangements for cre-
ating a regional identity in stores or markets.
Local stores or restaurants offer products that
reflect farmer practice or regional production,
communicating the uniqueness or special focus
of local production systems.
Local producers and the regional food identity
are promoted at special events such as fairs and
farmers' markets.
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