Taking Back the Market

1. Taking Back the Market Jared Walhowe

2. Farmers Diner. Barre, VT • Organic dairy, meat, eggs, wheat, potatoes • Most food grown witin 80 kilometers of the diner • Most consumers eat food that travels at least 2,500 kilometers. • Expanding because of the growing interest amongst local farmers, chefs, environmentalists, and concerned eaters who want more locally grown in stores and on menus.

3. Obstacles • Food safety regulations geared towards industrial-scale businesses of specialization. • Most diners have 5 suppliers. These are made up of large suppliers such as Sysco ($26 billion annually) • The Farmers diner has 35. plans to add another 20 next year

4. Advantages • Vermont's agricultural and landscape diversity. • Organic is big in Vertmont • Innovations: “pod” concept. • Direct Relationships to farmers. • Less money for shipping and storage. • Long term investments/not short term profits • More control over supply and processing

5. Farmers and Entrepreneurs • Success of ANDES group in Peru and Women’s Alliance of Ladakh. • Diverse food exchanged • Door to door marketing! • Farmer cooperatives have traditionally failed to address marketing. • Single commodity => More attention to local consumer demands.

6. Farmers Markets • Farmers taking back profits from Agribusiness. Retain more of every dollar taken in. • In U.S., 300 markets in 1970s. Over 3,100 today. • 3 million + people visit each week. • Cut middlemen out! = lower prices for consumers. Can be cheaper than supermarkets. • Ideal for small/beginning farmers.

7. Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs) • Members pay yearly share before growing season. Get regular deliveries when available. • Many CSAs donate to local soup kitchens and food banks. • Sliding scale = ensure clients are not just wealthy. • Up-front payment = security for farmers and guaranteed outlet for crops. • Clients get food that is “fresher, tastier, harvested at the peak of ripeness, and yet not fumigated, refrigerated, or packed.”

8. Segmentation of Industry • Most very large and centrally located and inconvenient to local initiatives. • “Need something between Sysco and CSAs” • Must allow larger farms and companies to take part in local foods and make it possible for more consumers to eat local. • Must keep opportunities for small to do well but, also for local to expand.

9. Between Sysco and CSAs • Association for Better Land Husbandry (ABLH)– Kenya • Group has helped coordinate 20 cooperatives to get access to large scale marketing and distribution advantages. • Shared delivery truck and marketing Staff. • Shared Processing facilities. Higher prices. • International Center for Insect and Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE). Help farmers grow medicinal herbs. Local medicine initiative.

10. Cont. • Local processing = more jobs and income. Especially for women who have been traditionally the ones who cook, process, can, and store foods. • Local processing also means a more steady supply of food year long • Less food wasted in transport.

11. Farm Shops • Popularized Across Europe • A group of farmers who produce a variety of crops join together to acquire and run a store that sells their products exclusively. • Growers get regular market and sell more than farmers markets. • One stop convenience for busy consumers. • Tagwerk shops – 180 member co-op. big enough to supply all goods most consumers need and employ 40 people in addition to farmers.

12. Alliances • “to expand their marketing and distribution opportunities, farmers can form alliances with other players getting nuzzled out in the ongoing process of consolidation.” • Independent supermarkets, school, universities, food co-ops, restaurants, and hotel owners can all form alliances with farmers directly. • Collective resistance to consolidation that is mutually beneficial and NOT exploitative.