We had a visitor from Toronto this weekend who picked up organic spinach from Costco. It was the only organic spinach there. Where it was grown was not advertised and the shopper did not notice Product of China printed on the back of the bag.
The Organic movement in its short history has been intimately tied to the environmental movement. People wanted to live in an environment free of toxic chemicals and they wanted to eat food and drink water and beverages free of toxic chemicals and hormones. The Locally Grown movement bound these desires by creating the demand for locally produced organic foods. Farms thrived and the number of small farms grew reversing what had seemed like a death march for the small independent farmer.
Agricultural innovation also flourished. With farmers making a profit they could afford to experiment and invest in new opportunities.
With farmers making a profit new generations of entrepreneurs entered the field bringing us a resurgence in Urban Farming, Greenhouse year-round production, Vertical Farms, Rooftop Farms, No Till Vegetables. The list goes on. Agriculture is exciting but there is trouble in paradise.
Organic is big business. It is global as seen with the Chinese Organic Spinach. As groceries compete on price I worry that local farmers will be priced out of the Organic market.
Ultimately it is up to us what the future of food will look like in our communities. Next time you shop please look to see where that bag of spinach or cucumber is from. Collectively we created Organic. Let’s not have it taken from us.