This comment seems particularly salient in light of some recent trends within t
he natural foods industry. Namely, as the demand and popularity of organic foo
ds grows, the distribution and retail component of the industry has become more
concentrated and more vertically integrated. Evidence for this transformation
can be found within the retail sector where in the past few years we have seen
that several chains have emerged as dominant within certain regions. Anyone
who lives on the East Coast (or the Midwest) may have watched with interest as
Fresh Fields and Whole Foods were engaged in a price war in order to fight
for market share in this highly lucrative market. However, when Whole Foods bo
ught Fresh Fields, discussion of price cuts vanished.....There is some evi
dence that these industrialization/concentration trends are also emerging in th
e production of organic/natural foods (see recent report on Agricultural Indust
rialization from the Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture).
I must confess that I find these trends very disturbing. They certainly do not
bode well for the security of our food system for either farmers or consumers.
Additionally, I think that it calls upon us within sustainable agriculture to
confront a very important moral/philisophical dilemna that we have been
able to avoid for many years -- Namely, if a food system is "green" (or greener
than conventional systems) does that mean it is "sustainable"? In other words
, how do we operationalize the very nebulous definition of "socially acceptable
" agriculture contained within the core of sustainable agriculture without
also looking at the thorny question of "sustainable for whom?" (see Allen, 1993
Food for the Future, John Wiley and Sons.)
>
>I used to work for minimum wage in a crunchy-granola hole-in-the-wall food
>co-op. Last year, I heard a talk by a rep from an organic beans and grains
>company. I was for all the world like a talk from any ag wholesaler. The
>organics made a difference from a marketing standpoint, but not from any of
>the ways that "sustainable" ag is important: farmers, farmworkers, ecology,
>community, etc.
>
>Maybe the question is, Who benefits from standardization?
>
>ciao
>bill
>
>
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