Thursday 18 August 2011

Local Food for Local People


One way to guarantee that your food is fresh is to buy it straight from the producer.  I buy as much as I can this way.  It not only tastes great, but also makes me feel good, because buying direct is about so much more than freshness.

There are many different ways to buy direct ranging from: farm shops, farmers’ markets, CSA schemes, box schemes, PYO etc.  They all form part of the local-food economy.
Localism is one of the guiding principles of this blog. So why does it matter?
Economic benefits

In the last fifty years food and farming has become a global industry dominated by big food companies and retailers.  Just after World War II farmers in Europe and North America received between 45% and 60% of the money spent by consumers on food.  Today that figure stands at just 7% in the UK and only 3.5% in the USA, although it is still 18% in France.  For example a US wheat farmer receives about 6 cents from each dollar spent on bread.  That is about the same as the packaging.  The real profits from food go to the processing companies and supermarkets.  That represents a huge drain from the rural economy, which unsurprisingly has been in steady long term decline

Buying food directly cuts out the middle man and puts more money in to the pocket of the producer.  Also, the evidence is that money spent directly on food has a greater stickiness within the local community and circulates for longer within the local economy. In text book terms, money spent on food has a high multiplier value. One study looking at an organic veggie box scheme in Cornwall calculated that every £10 spent on the scheme generated £25 for the local economy compared with £14 when the same £10 was spent in supermarkets.
Another study in Devon found that 38% of food producers engaging in direct selling activities created new jobs as a result.
In North America many farmers now sell 100% of their produce through framers markets.  In Britain direct outlets are vital to support the emergence of small scale producers, often specializing in rare breeds, organic production or heritage varieties, who would otherwise be unable to break into the national distribution chain, which is only interested in volume producers.
Social benefits

While farmers have felt the pinch, (or is it more like a crunch?) from supermarket buyers, they have had to adopt industrial methods of food production to drive down their own costs, and become more efficient just to survive.  The results have been catastrophic. As factory farms and associated monocultures bring about the despoliation of the environment, they employ fewer and fewer people and of course they are implicated in successive food scandals from BSE to salmonella in eggs.  Two opposing views have developed.  In the wider public there is an image of farmers as ecologically destructive, subsidy junkies who will produce toxic food if it turns a profit.  Farmers view the public as ignorant townies who interfere in the rural way of life while demanding cheaper and cheaper food.  “Don’t criticise farmers with your mouth full!” they snarl.

Direct outlets reconnect the producers to consumers and allow a two way engagement.  The farmer can hear, and even feel at first hand, the concerns of consumers, and customers can learn about the realities of food production in the twenty first century.
The public needs farmers to be custodians of the countryside and to act in a responsible and sustainable way.  Farmers need to be able to make a living with dignity and respect from their communities. We all need healthy food.
Environmental benefits
The other big benefit of local food is its environmental impact.  In the USA it has been estimated that a typical food item travels 2000 miles from the field to the plate causing damage to the environment and generating unnecessary carbon emissions.  Processed food uses more packaging: plastics, cellophane and polystyrene, which of course all have their own environmental impact.

Food from a farm shop comes relatively naked, and the only food miles are the ones you use getting the food home.
Love the food
Of course the best reason for buying local food is that it really does taste better.  At my local farmers market I get homemade pies, jams and pickles that never make it to any shops.  I get more choice and it’s fun, a real social occasion. Many stalls let you sample sausages, cheeses, wines etc. and several will be offering hot food to take away.  Ostrich burgers, wild boar sausages, delicious farm-made lamb curries bring a whole new dimension to fast food. Above all I enjoy the experience of seeing fresh food displayed at its best.

Is it also economical?  In North America I think it is. Various studies have found that in the USA farmers markets are between 10%  and 18% cheaper than supermarkets for comparable items. In the UK it is not so clear.  Ten years ago, one study by the University of the West of England found that prices of organic meat and poultry were 37% higher at supermarkets, with organic vegetables being 33% cheaper at farmers’ markets. However since then the organic sector has grown and prices have fallen.  But this research reflects a key fact, that the quality of food at a farmers market is usually higher.  If you are used to buying factory farmed meat and battery eggs then yeah the prices at your local farmers market could be a shock.  Maybe some day I will blog about the high cost of cheap food. 
My suspicion, based on personal experience, is that farmers markets in the UK do still appeal mainly to middle class shoppers, who are not so price sensitive.  In other words they could be cheaper and the farmer would still get a healthy profit while expanding the overall market.  But that’s free enterprise for you. 

I am fortunate that in my area there are many small holders who regularly sell surpluses from their back gardens or allotments.  The prices are great and vegetables are dug up freshly each day.  I wouldn't buy eggs in any other way.
Obviously I have no control over what is available, and you have to lose the supermarket obsession with uniformity and ‘perfection’.  I don’t mind a few spots on my courgettes, and I have eaten turnips that would have had Baldrick sniggering for a month.  But they taste great!


I need to acknowledge my debt to two papers in preparing this article:
Some Benefits and Drawbacks of Local Food Systems, Jules Pretty, Professor of Environment & Society, University of Essex, November 2001
The Economic Benefits of Farmers' Markets, Simon Bullock et al, Friends of the Earth, August 2000

1 comment:

  1. Nice article and makes me hungry!
    I'm just an "ignorant townie" who buys locally when I can - while this is good for some, I'm concerned it's not sustainable for the masses unless economies of scale can somehow be reached.

    Good post and I look forward to reading more - after lunch of course.

    ReplyDelete