The model of loss leading on fresh produce needs to stop, how is it that the cheap ultra processed rubbish food is not cheap, this is food that isn’t even food, why is it that our most valuable food, the real food actually grown in fields is sold at prices that are unsustainable?
During the week I had the honour of talking on a panel at the Climate Carnival on the future of food in Ireland. One of the speakers was the largest broccoli grower in Ireland, and he was very clear in conveying his opinions on supermarkets, and it was a damning verdict. The behaviour of supermarkets over the last 20 years has decimated the horticultural industry in Ireland. There are maybe only 60 growers left in Ireland growing field scale vegetables.
When the skills and infrastructure that provide us with local food are gone they are gone for good (just looked at what happened to the sugar beet industry in Ireland). There are very few people interested in getting into commercial veg growing and why would you? For low returns? For the hard work? For the unpredictability of the climate and then to be pressurised and squeezed by supermarket buyers that hold all the power. That is some thanks for providing our critical nourishment.
The truth of the fact is the supermarkets use fresh produce loss leaders to get shoppers in the door, and there is no escaping the fact that this squeezes the primary producer it always does, always.
Fresh veg for 49c, it is an illusion to think that food can be grown for this. The reality is that whilst these prices may be perceived as good by the consumer the long-term viability of these offerings is absolutely unsustainable, and we will pay in the long run. Not only does this desperate pricing model embed the idea that fresh produce is virtually worthless, but it also reduces the bargaining power farmers have when they come to renegotiate growing contracts in the following year.
If we lose anymore veg growers in Ireland there will be no horticultural industry left. We simply cannot afford to, if you consider food security, it is so important and with the climate in free fall, being able to grow as much food as we can here in Ireland is critical.
Not only do the supermarkets not play fair they also impose quite frankly ridiculous ultra-tight specifications, meaning vegetables must look a certain way and be of a certain size or they are rejected. For the sake of all that is sane, this needs to be stopped immediately. The model of loss leading on fresh produce needs to stop, that is the bottom line. Our most valued commodity, the stuff that sustains our life force, that can be a force for good needs to be protected and celebrated, not beaten down until it is no more.
As always thank you for your support for our farm and the farmers we support
Kenneth