Ethically-grounded Economic Behaviour

Ethically-grounded Economic Behaviour

 BY BRYAN LAVERY

 Farmers' Market season is over. Romaine lettuce was eight dollars a head at one of my favourite food shops, Vincenzo's in Kitchener. Cauliflower is ten dollars a head at the Covent Garden Market. With escalating grocery prices and the cost of lettuce such as romaine at an all-time high, we can say goodbye to the Caesar salad this winter. The concept of "greedflation" by Canada's largest grocery retailers has appeared as one of the most talked about concerns in the last few months. Food prices continue to increase.

 We are living through a gastronomic renaissance, and more than ever, my work puts me in front of the orthodoxy of local food procurement, business incubation, culinary innovation and food start-ups advancing "local" in our food culture. Chefs and restaurateurs that genuinely support farmers and food artisans and pay close attention to the provenance of their ingredients hold a great deal of sway with me. The disingenuous and lazy claim, "We source our food locally whenever possible," is anathema to me.

To stay abreast of the culinary scene, I meet with chefs, farmers, food artisans, restaurateurs and other food writers. When I tell people that, among other things, I write about food, they imagine the superficial existence of dining in restaurants night after night. I habitually refrain from dwelling on pedestrian dining experiences or poorly executed cuisine in print. My quest is to uncover and elevate the authentic and extraordinary. I am subjected to more than my fair share of mediocre food and disappointing food and drink experiences.

No reader wants us, food writers, to pile unrestrained acclaim on every restaurateur, chef, farmer or culinary artisan. It gets obnoxious and is insincere. At best, I am a curious eater who likes to discover the best food and dining experiences, but I also encourage recommendations from an extensive network of knowledgeable contacts. In my quest to eat sensibly, I have been sent on many a fruitless or complicated pursuit, a crucial caveat being that I can overlook disagreeable surroundings or neglectful service if the food is remarkable in the true sense of the word.

Fortunately, the movement to buy and eat locally shows no signs of waning. The local food movement and sustainable agriculture reform initiatives are grounded upon critical assessments of the existing food systems that dominate the marketplace and remain instrumental in driving the cycle of global famine. Central to the local food movement is the desire to support small-scale farmers and food artisans whose products are consumed locally, allowing them to keep revenues within the community and reduce agriculture's environmental footprint.

The prevailing agri-business conglomerates' model is costly and toxic for both people and the broader environment. Most of us will agree that it is unsustainable. Global instability, dependence on other countries, food security, rural welfare and smart economics are the most compelling arguments to promote and lobby for a sustainable local agricultural sector.

Local food movements attract their share of detractors, with the movement's ideals and initiatives striking some as inaccessible, too cerebral or elitist. Critics maintain that eating has evolved from a question of survival to a declaration of unrealistic snobbish principles and moral superiority. No one wants to endure a twenty-minute lecture about eating a tomato out of season, however enlightened it may seem.

 The virtues denoting the word "artisan" include handmade, small-batch, regional, local and handcrafted. But what does the term mean? In my experience, an artisan is a craftsperson who makes a high-quality or distinctive product in small quantities, usually by hand or using traditional methods. Authentic artisanal goods can't be mass-produced: they are limited in number and generally have specific characteristics deemed to be a specialty.

A few years ago, I discovered an award-winning, buttery cheese fêted in print, which was not handcrafted or farmstead produced. Rather than being the essence of Quebec's terroir, it was mass-produced. The "artisan" farmer featured on the packaging was a figment of some marketing ploy.

The word "artisan" on a label is no longer the imprimatur it once was; it has become a buzzword and a warm and fuzzy marketing adjective. Now that fast food corporations and grocery chains have co-opted the idiom, the term has lost its meaning and integrity. You have to wonder if the word "artisan" has any credibility or has become another marketing ploy for the greenwashing of corporate food initiatives.

Greenwashing is a practice in which green public relations are employed to encourage the false perception that an organization's products and policies are environmentally friendly or that environmental responsibility is a core business ethic. Being green not only has a certain cachet, but it is also politically correct and respected by both eco-friendly and not green customers. If you look closely, bogus feel-good environmentalism and eco-friendly fakery are on the rise and continue to drive self-serving agendas.

Studies reveal that grocery store shoppers consider product quality most important to them in their choice of supermarkets. The trend is aided by consumers' growing concerns about food safety as food recalls, allergy alerts, and foodborne Listeria outbreaks and crises continue to shake consumer confidence in corporate businesses and products produced by agribusinesses.

The preference to purchase and eat local products has helped revive farmers' and farmgate sales as an alternative to grocery store retailers. Farmers' markets are increasing exponentially. According to recently available statistics, Ontarians spend more than $600 million in annual sales, for a total economic impact of up to $1.08 billion. According to Farmers' Markets of Ontario, "one of the ways farmers' markets shape food systems is by fostering free enterprise and ethically-grounded economic behaviour."

Many farms sell local foods, crafts and flowers from a farmgate stand at the end of a laneway. The farmgate helps build relationships between small-scale growers, indie farmers and consumers, encouraging respect and generating awareness of the sustainability and seasonality of products and rural business as a way of life.

In Ontario, the growth of niche, largely rural-based culinary enterprises, whose innovations concentrate on producing specialty, high-quality, artisan-type products, continues to rise. The main reason for their growth is the superior qualities of artisan foods over their mass-produced equivalents.

The term artisan, from the Italian artigiano, dates back to the 16th century to reference a skilled craftsperson. Corporate companies have misappropriated the term, diluted its meaning and made it almost hopelessly meaningless. - BL