Ethical Eating: Our Endangered Food Supply Chain
by Stephen Brooks, Punta Mona, Costa Rica on 07.14.08
Stephen Brooks is the co-founder of Kopali Organics and a correspondent for Planet Green’s G Word http://planetgreen.discovery.com/tv/g-word/. TreeHugger.
In this day and age we try and consider all of the certifications and seals on the packages of the food we buy. Is it organic? Fair Trade? Wild harvested? Rainforest friendly? Local? What does this all mean anyway? Who is actually growing my food and who is profiting when I buy it?
Most people do not want to contribute to destroying our planet’s ecosystems, nor do people want to support child slave labor in the Ivory Coast when eating their favorite chocolate bar. Yet, somehow, these atrocities are taking place with many, many of the products we consume everyday. Now the question is: Is it possible for our food to be both affordable and not destroy the planet?
We have all heard the saying about how "Artists don't know how to sell their own work." I find that this is also true, in most cases, with small organic farmers. When it comes to caring for their soils, protecting their watersheds, saving heirloom seeds and cultivating the Earth with love and precision, many of the world's small organic farmers could be compared to Da Vinci or Michelangelo. They are true artists of the land. But, unfortunately, when it comes to understanding the market, designing hip packaging or finding the best mode of shipping, they often find themselves lacking. Thus, these heroic farmers are often taken advantage of and can barely survive.
Makes me wonder: How does this happen?
I've learned a few things about the international food industry over the years: There is clearly a limit to what consumers will pay for a desired product. The grocery chains and independent stores alike do not have very much room to bend on their margin, nor do the brands, nor do the brokers, the distributors, the shipping companies, the packaging companies or the small truckers who bring the goods to the ports. It is most often the farmers that are forced to lower their price because they fear being stuck with a spoiled perishable product or they risk losing their buyer who, driven by price, buys from another farm.
I know that people all along this supply chain rarely bend because I have been struggling for several years to see if I could get them to. I came equipped with real, beautiful and compelling stories about the plight of a dying breed of small organic farmers who work with the land as their ancestors did before them. I have told the people working for the companies along this very supply chain stories about how we have found these delicous juices from the ultra drylands of the cerrado and the caatinga in the Minas Gerais region of Brazil. This one of the five most endangered ecosystems on Earth (much more endangered than even the Amazon rain forest). These incredible fruits, like Imbu and Mangaba, are harvested by two thousand local families who actually harvest from the wild forests of this disappearing ecosystem. The forests have been destroyed to be turned into charcol for the growing aluminum industry in the area.
But at the end of the day, business is business and companies need to show big margins to their investors. Often at the end of the year these same companies will make giant donations to their favorite charities, but bend a bit on a margin, stating “It's very difficult.” I often wonder if there could be a different paradigm, something in between, maybe a bit of a smaller margin but a business whose very principles are based on doing good for the planet and for all the people involved.
Stephen Brooks is a jungle tropical fruit farmer in Costa Rica, the co-founder of Kopali Organics and is the Food Field Reporter on Planet Green's G Word.
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Wow! Just goes to show what an important part of this puzzle we all are. By buying and eating organic we can both support these hardworking farmers and enjoy delicious food harvested with love!
thanks for doing the good work!
its amazing that we live in a world where this kind of business is rare and just now blossoming.
you are what you eat....
Love it! Keep it up Stephen. You're an inspiration!
What upsets me is not only are big corporations taking advantage of small farmers, but they are taking advantage of their consumers as well. Prices of economically and ecologically responsible goods have soared, and I believe it is all due to the growing awareness and popularity of "Going Green." Although I am thrilled at the sight of all the "Free Range," "Eco-Friendly" and "Free-Trade" labels that crowd the aisles of my grocery store, I would like to see my government intervene and make these responsible practices by some - into FDA requirements for all. Preserving our planet's ecosystems, the ethical treatment of animals and ensuring fair compensation for farmers is not something that should be taxed by corporations looking to capitalize on a trend, but should be FDA enforced industry standards.
The different paradigm you speak of has already begun and is spreading. Conscious commerce is becoming commonplace in certain pockets, from Kopali, to Pangea Organics, to Sambazon, to Guayaki, to Whole Foods and even slowly slowly to Walmart and Target. The wagon is loaded and rolling-people like us just have to keep on pushing. Good work Stephen Brooks. Love you! Love Kopali!
This is a great commentary on a piece of buying organic that is often missing: the farmers. So often consumers think about their health and that of the planet when reaching for something organic, but the role of the farmers has been in the shadow until recently. It is also important to buy organic to protect the health of those who grow our food! And ensure that it was produced responsibilty and that they were given a fair wage. Thanks to Stephen for highlighting this.
What a great summary of the issues small organic farmers face every day and how the supply chain systems of the world need to transform to make it right for all....
Only one way to make it happen, perseverance, to continue to speak the same message and educate consumers!
Go Stephen, Go Kopali Organics!
Well said, Danielle. The food industry (actually ANY really large, powerful, politically entrenched industry) is so hard to change from the ground up...we need the FDA to enforce new and better standards to ensure the humane treatment of animals, people, and our planet!
Great topic! Our food soures need to be on everyone's agenda. I prefer organic straight from the earth! I am willing to pay a small premium to get what I want from these large stores, but only if it truly is organic.
Sometimes I just go get what I want from the neiborhood. Yes I'm a backyard forager. Thanks for talking about that on G-Word.
Yes we need to come up with other alternatives to fossil fuels, but I think food should be on the top of everyones list. Who cares if you can drive around on a cap of water, what if theres nothing to eat while your driving.
When we aren't paying extra for the value of organics, fair trade, local, etc., we are oftentimes externalizing the costs and putting them onto others, or making the planet bear the burden.
Also, some foods are inherently worse for the planet. There's an interesting project called FoodPrint that is attempting to assess the carbon impact of every food we eat, which addresses many of the issues in this article (loss of habitat, travel over long distances, resource intensive farming practices, etc.)
Go get em, Stephen, you are awesome! I just hope everyone can take something from this article, it will make this world a better place! You are truly an inspiration! Go Kopali
very thought provoking....its so easy to get wrapped up in our day to day hustle that we forget that chain reactions are all around us. From the homes we live in to the words we say to the clothes we wear and to the food be eat. people often ask me "what can i do", "where do i start"... my answer... read labels, research the company your supporting. And its hard, that pair of shoes you fall in love with, arent made from organic or recycled materials, yet you want them and they go so well with your outfit, imported from china, its hard. and none of us wake up in the morning and say, today i m going to destroy the world, i m going to ruin someones life. it all begins with the little things that hopefully if we are open to it will evolve into new thought patterns, new modes of living. until then, we do the best we can with the options we are given. i applaud Mr. Brooks for bringing this topic to tree hugger and to the market place, i look forward to many more blogs from this eco-warrior!
Very good post. Businesses need to become more socially responsible, otherwise the world as a whole will never improve. New technologies and resources running its course with globalization aren't equally benefiting all of of the global village's citizens. This must be fixed, thus vote with your dollars and start supporting triple bottom line business.
Great post Stephen, keep it up.