Food safety and environmental effects may be dealt with as well by
Hain-Heinz scale/type of organic ag (I think they will be lacking there as
well, but not to the same extent) as by small-scale producers, but issues
pertaining to land ownership, consolidation, and economic viability of rural
communties are the same for corporate organic ag as for they are for
corporate industrial ag.
Consumer education focusing on social justice in farming; labels and/or
certification designating product origin; and development of local and
regional infrastructure (processing kitchens, farmers markets, etc) will be
the saviors. The issue of corporate domination in such fundamentally
important areas of our culture as how we obtain our sustenance MUST be
addressed.
Building personal relationships between consumers and producers is paramount
to creating mutual concern and understanding between two otherwise
(seemingly) different groups. The CSA movement is a good example of the
potential such relationships can create. In Japan, where CSA's have been
operating for almost 30 years, the significance of such interactions is
realized in the term for CSA, "teikei", which translates to "putting the
farmers' face on food."
Kevin
Kevin Webb
Food Circles Networking Project
Department of Rural Sociology
University of Missouri-Columbia
105 Sociology
Columbia, MO 65211
(573) 882-3776
[573] 882=1473 (fax)
webbk@missouri.edu
-----Original Message-----
From: Bluestem Associates [mailto:bluestem@webserf.net]
Sent: Monday, September 27, 1999 1:04 PM
To: sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu
Subject: Heinz - Hain
American organic farmers might as well start looking for other buyers.
"We will marry Heinz's great strength and sale in
low-cost international procurement, manufacturing
and logistics with Hain's talent and success in the
marketing, sales and distribution to specialty food
outlets," Heinz CEO William R. Johnson said.
And there is at least one 'Panamanian-registry' type organic
certification program out there who will (for the appropriate fee) be
willing to help it happen.
The liquidation of the market good-will associated with the word
'organic' has indeed begun in earnest. Farmers unable or unwilling to
play along by furnishing commodities at rock-bottom low-ball prices
will soon have no place in this segment of the market.
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