hello ann, (maybe the others may also have an answer to this)
i know, that you're on a sabbathical, may i nevertheless ask one
or two questions ?
>Organic food costs more to the consumer largely because of price
>hikes at the retail end. Organic is still a small player, unable
>to consistently occupy shelf space year-around, look
>"just-picked" 7 days a week, and various other scale concerns
>that occupy the minds of retailers.
if you were an organic grower (let's assume vegetables or fruit)
and you know, you can't compete - meaning you have nothing to
sell during the winter months - with supermarkets: how would you
react ?
a) it's not worth driving to the market with nothing but celery
or cabbage in winter, you do not sell enough to pay for the
gasoline...
b) consumers usually are used to buy most of their food from ONE
farmer (a certain market stand from someone they have trust
in). if you quit the market for a "winter time-out", they
might go to the supermarket AND (that's the dangerous thing)
might decide to stay supermarket shoppers even in the next
season.
so the farmer has two options:
a) stay in the market with a (maybe extremely reduced
assortement) and very likely losing money or having an hourly
income not worth the time spent
b) switch to sell non-organic food from southern countries and
(that's important for the confidance) to clearly tell your
clients, that this is conventional food
i know organic growers, who changed to option b), because they
think it very important not to loose contact with their usual
clients. and immendiately some other organic growers accuse them
to negate the "spirit" of organic farming.
how would you react and what would be wiser in your opinion ?
> As the volume of organic produce grows, and as
> retailers cope with the notion that year-around strawberries are
> not essential, this will be less of an issue.
do you really see any trend, that consumers, once they have
"tasted blood", are willing to reduce their desires (which, as
can be seen in every supermarket, can very well be fulfilled
without EVIDENT social and environmental costs) ??
i have strong doubts, but that certainly does not mean, that it
really can't be achieved with better information and with more
and more negative environmental consequences, people have to deal
with...
regards
klaus
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