Editor’s note: This oped is by Steven Farnham. He resides in Plainfield.
The November/December edition of Full Scoop (the member-owner newsletter of Hunger Mountain food Co-op—which happens to be my grocery store of choice) contains an article entitled, “Evaluating Products At The Co-op.” Penned by the manager, Kari Bradley, this article discusses a variety of actions requested by (and management’s response to) concerned customers or members. If you would like to read the article, you may request a copy from Info@HungerMoountain.com
The individual issues involved were interesting, and management’s handling of them well researched, but what struck me most about the article was that given the effort and learning involved, it was a shame that the few co-op members who actually read the article would be the only ones to benefit from it. I made the suggestion to Kari that he recast the article to appeal to a broader audience, and submit it as an op-ed to the local press. Having recently attended a talk at the Montpelier Grange about VtDigger, presented by Anne Galloway, I suggested that among others, Kari might contact Ms. Galloway.
Unbeknownst to me, Anne was already working on another project involving the co-op, and less than a week later, when I was at the co-op again, the proverbial “stuff” had hit the local media’s bullhorn, and Kari was managing the repercussions of Anne’s exposé on organic food imported from China, sold by “…natural food store managers [who] like to tout their localvore street cred.”
Kari asked me if I had seen Anne Galloway’s article (I hadn’t) and the ensuing conversation made it clear to me that he was not terribly pleased with the way in which the article was presented. In a subsequent conversation with Anne, she assured me that if Kari was that upset by the piece, he should read it again.
I did read it again, and I agree with Kari that the article does appear to make a watermelon out of a poppy seed—at least from the standpoint of our local food co-op. Beginning with Anne’s second paragraph, and continuing on for the next eight, she paints a bleak picture as though it applies to our local organic food stores. Much of the remainder appears to portray the management as offering wimpy excuses. The article makes it sound as though a large proportion of natural food store products could and probably do come from China, or as if a majority of it soon will—an egregiously alarmist position. Let us examine a few things the article failed to consider:
According to manager Kari Bradley, fewer than five of Hunger Mountain Co-op’s products originate in China. Nearly a third of sales ($4 million) are from Vermont grown or Vermont value added products.
What is so bad about food from China? No one would fault the co-op for stocking French wine, Italian olive oil, or German bratwurst.
A tremendous amount of localvore activity entails people who garden or buy directly from farmers. These members and shoppers buy from the co-op only what is not available locally. If the transactions involving local sales aren’t registered in the co-op’s books, how is the co-op to show a large percentage of sales from local sources? Some customers do not choose local. Knowing this, procuring thirty percent locally in the middle of the growing season seems like quite an achievement.
What is so bad about food from China? No one would fault the co-op for stocking French wine, Italian olive oil, or German bratwurst. Most people drive to the co-op in autos made overseas, fueled by Saudi oil, and they arrive wearing clothes made in China. China has become many Americans’ favourite place to hate, and perhaps for good reason, but it is entirely possible that some food ought to come from China.
Adzuki beans, for example, are grown all over East Asia, being cultivated in Korea and China over 3000 years ago, before being grown in Japan. Grow them here (if you can) and for all we know, they’ll become the next invasive exotic.
What about Grand Union, Hannaford’s, IGA, Price Chopper, Shaws, and Wal*Mart? Did Anne’s research indicate what percentages of their product lines are organic and domestic? If reaching UNFI, the Organic Trade Association, Hain-Celestial, and others was so difficult, it would be interesting to find out how transparent the folks are in Bentonville.
Most of us who are paying attention at all have noticed that despite the flagging economy, and abysmal pay to farmers, that food prices (organic or not) have been steadily floating into stratosphere. In addition, the price of using our food dollar to support appropriate infrastructure has become prohibitive. If Anne is only now encountering this problem, she is a bit of a Johnny-come-lately in discovering it.
Brian Tokar and others in Winooski Valley (Plainfield) Co-op’s community have been working on awareness of food security for a couple decades or more. If you are privy to their work, or similar, then you might also know about one Bill Heffernan, who has been warning us about the dangers of corporate-controlled food for some time. Another that comes to mind is Rural Vermont. These people have been hollering for years about the shenanigans of garden-variety corporate bastards (including those at UNFI), and the media have largely ignored them.
When I am unhappy with something at the co-op, my first strategy is to speak with the management. Which brings me back to where I started. People in the co-op community (members and management alike) are already on the leading edge of providing the healthiest, “localest” food they can, and they need help—not public excoriation. Anne’s experiences on the phone with UNFI and others should tell her something about the enormity of that task.
Full Scoop is published six times a year, and inside every issue, Hunger Mountain Food Co-op’s manager, Kari Bradley writes an interesting, cogent article on the most recent challenges facing the co-op. I still believe that these could be easily recast (or originally composed) for a broader audience, and I still feel it would benefit all involved for Vermont Digger to carry them. If Anne would care to meet with Kari, and ask how VtDigger can help the local, organic food movement, I am reasonably certain that mostly good would come of it.
