So Do You Know Your Farmer Now?

There's really no word that properly describes what we're all going through.  Many are trying to sort out what it means to food production.  At minimum it's huge uncertainty,  a scramble for survival with supply chains disrupted. The Covid-19 pandemic has shutdown restaurants, including fast food restaurants, and that's meant an immediate loss of 30 to 40% of what had been a stable market for most farmers. Yes people are buying more to cook at home, and food wholesale and retailers are so far keeping shelves stocked, but for how long. And with this now Spring, farmers need to decide whether to plant for the current short market, or what might be there in the Fall. Who knows.

There's been a lot of writing about these issues. Here are a few.

From the Island Farmer by Petrie

 

This is A Moment to Think About the Future

I’m hoping by the time you read this that the fear and panic so many felt through March will have eased. Each of us has stories about helping and being helped, things we didn’t need to worry about, and things we should have considered.

I keep thinking about how different the feelings would be between consumers who have established on-going relationships with local farmers through community-supported agriculture (CSA’s) and/or farmers markets, and those who watched supermarket shelves quickly clear out, and wondered if new supplies would be available.

This isn’t a morality tale that letting Galen Weston decide where our food comes from is a mistake.  I have grudging appreciation for a food system that can land Chinese garlic and Chilean fruit in a supermarket in Souris in the dead of winter, and how the retail supermarkets have kept up with unprecedented demand now.  I have huge respect for the wholesale and retail workers, truckers, and so on who are expected to continue this essential service.

I do think that these extraordinary weeks (months?) give us a chance to appreciate the resources we have locally, rethink our responsibility as consumers to support all local producers and businesses, for their sake and ours.

Consider people living in big cities, the majority of Canadians now. Everything they need to survive from water, to energy, to food comes from somewhere else. Few have any idea where, or how it gets to them.

On PEI however we have a genuine opportunity to be closely connected to the people and resources that support our lives.  The Water Act has given all Islanders a good understanding of the precious groundwater resources we rely on. Big wind turbines, and now solar panels produce increasing amounts of the energy we use.  And our farms produce much of what we need and more. Could we rediscover the “Island way of life”  so many older Islanders talk about, that sense of self sufficiency and reliance on neighbours and community.  The next few weeks could well show us that we can. We may have no choice.

This critical relationship between consumers and farmers is thoughtfully explored in a timely new book called Food Security: From Excess to Enough by Ralph Martin. He used to head up the organic farming section at what was then the Nova Scotia Agricultural College in Truro. He retired recently from the University of Quelph.

Ralph Martin has a lifetime of research, teaching and writing on soils and food production and he’s become convinced that consumers have an essential role to create a new food system that improves people’s health, is fairer to farmers and by extension helps protect soils and the environment.  He writes that agricultural research has focused almost entirely on growth and efficiency, driven by the idea that to feed 8 billion people farmers have to continually increase productivity and drive down costs. He argues that farmers are trapped in a system that squeezes them on production costs, and offers no reward in the market for sustainable farming practices.

Consumers he writes must lead the change, give farmers assured markets at fair prices, learn to cook again with fresh produce through the summer and fall,  and preserve the harvest for the winter.  They’ll be healthier, and farmers can start the soil building and sustainable farming practices that many want to do, but can’t because profit margins are so thin.

The book uses words not often heard in the food business, “Increasingly, I understand that if food security is to be realized, then food must be treated with respect.”  Martin writes about “happy frugality”, obtaining an “adequate living without doing irreparable harm to the environment.”

Ironically the Covid 19 “social distancing” may give local famers and consumers a chance to establish a new kind of relationship that could continue once the pandemic is over.  With the Charlottetown Farmers Market not operating consumers can now  go to a webpage (  https://mailchi.mp/maplebloomfarm/eatlocalpei ) , see what suppliers have for sale, order, electronically pay, and then either have it delivered, or pick it up, without having to be close to anyone. Yes the social side of the market is lost, but this convenience might well establish new on-going relationships. That’s the thing, a fair priced market is a precious thing for farmers, and security of food supply will become increasingly important for consumers. This does both.

There’s something else that’s important in Ralph Martin’s book. Despite unrelenting urbanization everywhere in Canada, he says our future will be determined in the hinterland “…  the future of civilization still hinges on the observations, relationships, and actions of engaged rural realists. It is mostly in rural areas that layers of leaves photosynthesize to convert sunlight energy, and where clean water and healthy soil are the foundation of food and fibre production. The 18 percent remaining in rural Canada support the rest of us in ways we are slow to appreciate.”

And we may well appreciate rural Canadians even more as we struggle with so much uncertainty in the months ahead.

COMMENTARY: Food security vital for a world in crisis

 

ROBERT CERVELLI, PHIL FERRARO & GREGORY HEMING

Recently, an Indiana man in his early 60s, in few words and with tears, laid out the absolute sadness of COVID-19. “After 45 years of marriage, my wife is dead, I am in quarantine. This is how it ends.”

The once unimaginable consequences of this pandemic are upon us. Complicating matters even further is the unrelenting march of climate change, with millions of displaced persons left alone to wander on a planet that is too hot and getting hotter. Near-term societal collapse is now a potential outcome. The simple fact is that humanity has never had to endure the level of distress that now exists on the planet.

Is this how it ends? Not necessarily. As COVID-19 explodes worldwide, now is the time to begin planning for the inevitable global social disruption surely to follow.

Just the other day, Salvatore Melluso, a priest at Caritas Diocesana di Napoli, a church-run charity in Naples, Italy, spoke out. “Now people are more afraid — not so much of the virus, but of poverty. Many are out of work and hungry. There are now long queues at food banks.”

Here in Atlantic Canada, indeed throughout the world, we believe the road to stability and resilience, in light of both COVID-19 and the more complex consequences of climate change, begins with food security.

Shelves have been emptied in many grocery stores over the past few weeks as people realize the need to stock up on food in preparation for isolation, transportation disruption and social distancing. While toilet paper hoarding is the current joke, the run on canned goods, flour, pasta, rice, sugar and many other basic staples is a serious indication of the vulnerability of our current food system.

Many grocery stores typically carry only a three-day inventory of food. Our food system is now almost entirely dependent upon delivery trucks and distribution centres to keep running. Over the past decades, our primary food chain has become little more than that — a long-distance, just-in-time, import-delivery system.

COVID-19, and the related structural and economic fallout, has quickly brought to the surface the utter fragility of our food system. It is now in danger of failing altogether. If the countries we rely on for many food imports, particularly Mexico and the U.S., fail to control the spread of the virus, the scenario painted by Salvatore Melluso is a certainty.

The good news is that food security is now becoming mainstream. Interest in gardening has skyrocketed. There is clear evidence that Atlantic Canadians are working quickly to plan for the coming growing season and are either starting a garden or expanding the one they have.

The old adage of the “Victory Garden” is back. These gardens harken back to the First and Second World Wars as a way of supporting the war effort through home gardening and local food security. COVID-Climate Victory Gardens are essential and have arrived in Atlantic Canada. Plant one. Join one.

There are clear signs that some of our municipal and provincial governments are responding. Some have passed motions and set policies around food security.

Local farmers have recently raised the immediate issue of temporary foreign workers. Some 1,500 workers are needed in Nova Scotia, 400-500 in Prince Edward Island and 60,000 nationally. As travel restrictions are imposed on all non-essential travellers, temporary foreign farm workers are exempted. The federal government will allow foreign workers in, but they must undergo a 14-day quarantine. Many may not be willing to come here due to pandemic concerns for themselves and their families.

Ironically, we now have many newly unemployed workers who need paid work. Provincial governments should consider a wage subsidy, in addition to current EI and other COVID-19 relief programs, to encourage local residents to help farmers and minimize the risk of the virus spreading due to foreign workers coming to the region.

In British Columbia, the government recently imposed regulations set out to protect supply chains and ban the re-sale of food (as well as medical supplies and personal protective gear). We strongly suggest that our regional provincial governments prepare to impose similar food price limitations at the wholesale and retail levels to prevent price gouging in the event of shortages. They would do well to consider additional support for food banks as an essential service to sustain the families that need them. Without taking such bold measures now, we may have to deal with the need for rationing in the event that supply lines continue to fail.

Food self-reliance requires measures to ensure that farm and garden supply stores remain open and their supply chains functioning. Seed production and supply should be considered an essential service.

This coming growing season is the right time to expand agriculture extension services and horticultural training programs, and to develop programs that emphasize best practices for food production, including no-till agriculture. Government-backed guarantees on wholesale food prices will also enable farmers to grow the food we need without facing potential financial loss.

COVID-19 has taught both government and citizens that it is urgent and essential to plan ahead for pandemics and climate change. While our immediate personal and public health is job one, we also need to begin preparing for greater control over our food supply.

It is all of us together who are ultimately responsible for making healthy choices for our individual lives and for the lives of our children, our grandchildren and our neighbours. We determine the economic and ecological health of our communities. It is us who will determine the future of the earth.

Robert Cervelli, executive director, Centre for Local Prosperity, lives in Head of St Margarets Bay. Phil Ferraro, director, Institute for Bioregional Studies Ltd. and agricultural advisor, Centre for Local Prosperity, lives in Charlottetown. Gregory Heming, president, Centre for Local Prosperity and Annapolis County councillor, lives in Port Royal.

 

 

 

Food producers move to make just the basics during COVID-19 pandemic

By

Kathryn Blaze Baum

theglobeandmail.com

 

Food manufacturers are limiting their production to their most popular items in order to maximize volume and meet the skyrocketing demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
As Canadians self-isolate, eat more meals at home and stockpile essentials, demand for some grocery items has been up by 400 per cent. Major retailers, which typically stock on a “just enough, just in time” basis, have struggled to replenish their shelves.
Manufacturers have responded by limiting their portfolios to just their most popular items, allowing for the more efficient operation of their machinery and production lines. In these unprecedented times, they are going back to basics.
During the first week of April alone, the leader of a national purchasing organization received messages from dozens of companies saying they are concentrating their efforts on commonly sold items.
“They’re just trying to meet demand and provide something to eat,” said Denis Gendron, the president of United Grocers Inc., which negotiates purchasing agreements on behalf of various retailers who together comprise one-third of the Canadian grocery industry. “They’re doing the items they can do the fastest that are selling well.”
While many businesses have been shut down to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, food manufacturers are considered essential services and are permitted to continue to operate.
Ontario’s Italpasta typically makes 63 types of pasta, but the company is focusing on the top six cuts in its Tradizionale range of products: spaghetti, spaghettini, penne, fusilli, elbows and lasagne.
“We’re running the spaghetti 24 hours a day,” said owner and president Joseph Vitale. “People aren’t so fancy right now. They just want pasta.”

 

 By focusing on the core cuts and pausing production on whole-grain pastas and egg noodles, the company’s manufacturing plant can increase its output by operating more efficiently; it takes about three hours to change the mould on the pasta press, he said.
Mr. Vitale said the ramped-up, streamlined production is necessary. One night last week, about 15 trucks were lined up outside the manufacturing facility waiting for a spot at one of 20 loading doors – all of which were occupied. “We’re loading all night, and all weekend,” he said, adding that production is up roughly 30 per cent.
Prairie Flour Mills usually packs 35 products, but the Manitoba company has temporarily set some of them aside. As co-owner Clayton Manness put it in a recent interview, “We’re just trying to get ordinary flour out the door."
Nestlé Canada is also reducing the number of products it makes for the time being. “During this dynamic situation, we are carefully managing our supply chain and being agile with what is produced and shipped, which varies by product and customer,” the food and beverage giant said in an e-mail. “We believe that a simplified portfolio approach enables greater efficiencies across the entire value chain in a time of crisis.”
Manufacturers that supply grocers with household items are similarly changing tack. Kruger Products, the country’s largest producer of toilet paper, is making only its high-demand brands and formats: Cashmere and Purex bathroom tissue, SpongeTowels paper towels and Scotties facial tissue. The company said it is running all eight of its manufacturing facilities at full capacity, and has also opened up old production lines.
On the retail front, Walmart Canada has been speaking with suppliers more regularly as they cope with changes in demand during the pandemic. Cutting down on the variety of their product assortment is a common tactic right now, said Lani Lindsay, the company’s vice-president of replenishment. One pasta sauce manufacturer is now making three kinds of sauce instead of the usual eight, for example, and a toilet paper maker is producing two package sizes instead of five.
“With each supplier, we discuss the items our customers are looking for the most and prioritize [certain products],” Ms. Lindsay said in a statement. “We also look for the goods to be ordered and shipped in efficient quantities, such as pallets. The strategy also cuts down on handling time and allows product to move faster.”
A spokeswoman for Metro Inc., which is a member of the UGI purchasing group, said the company is supportive of the pared-down manufacturing approach. "It’s the right thing to do in the circumstances,” said Marie-Claude Bacon, adding that the retailer is confident customers will still see enough variety.
And the situation is only temporary. Mr. Vitale said when life goes back to normal, the company will resume making cuts such as rotini, rigatoni, scoobi do and fettuccine. “As soon as this thing is over, we’ll go back to doing it all,” he said. “This is an emergency.”

How You Should Get Food During the Pandemic

By

Amanda Mull

theatlantic.com

A couple of weeks ago, as the possibility of the looming coronavirus pandemic began to settle in for most Americans, many people started preparing to ward off the virus by thinking about personal hygiene. Because advice about the efficacy of hand-washing and personal sanitization came early, Americans invaded big-box stores across the country to stock up on hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, cans of Lysol, and, for some reason, bales and bales of toilet paper. Feeling ready to clean up after yourself is pretty easy.

Since the nationwide run on Purell began, figuring out how to conduct everyday life has gotten only more complicated. Canceled events, school and office closures, and pleas from public-health officials to avoid contact with others have started to change the rhythms of daily life, and the omnipresent question of what to eat has taken on a new, moral complication. Keeping yourself fed via the delivery services and grocery stores that most Americans rely on is a necessary task that can’t easily be completed while avoiding other people.

Nutrient-dense fresh foods—the kinds people should ideally be eating when their health is at stake—are expensive and go bad quickly. Not everyone has an extra freezer, or the money to fill it. Some people just can’t cook for themselves. If you’re not a person who keeps a stocked pantry, that’s when confusion sets in: Is it safe to order delivery, both for you and for the person bringing you food? Is it safe to go to a grocery store that might be packed with panicked people? How do you support community businesses while social distancing? How do you lessen the burden that you put on people in service jobs? It’s time for America to figure out how to feed itself during a pandemic.

When it comes to ordering in, the food itself is unlikely to be much of a danger, according to Stephen Morse, an epidemiologist at Columbia University. Even if the person preparing it is sick, he told me via email, “cooked foods are unlikely to be a concern unless they get contaminated after cooking.” He granted that “a salad, if someone sneezes on it, might possibly be some risk,” but as long as the food is handled properly, he said, “there should be very little risk.” Now might be a good time to familiarize yourself with what your local health department thinks of the food-handling practices of your favorite restaurants.

The danger of the delivery interaction, meanwhile, depends on how it’s orchestrated. For the food’s recipient, the risk is relatively low, Morse said: “There can be transmission through contaminated inanimate objects, but we think the most important route of transmission is respiratory droplets,” which spread when someone coughs, sneezes, or even breathes in close proximity to others. As always, wash your hands before you eat. (If you’re worried about other kinds of deliveries—mail or online-shopping orders, for example—they’re also relatively unlikely to transmit the virus, but you should still wash your hands after opening them.)

Deliverers themselves are much more likely to be exposed because of all the people they encounter. Morse said the risk can be reduced for both parties if recipients ask that food be left outside the door—or, ideally, if restaurants mandate this practice to protect their employees. Customers can also tip electronically or place cash outside before the delivery arrives. In Wuhan, China, where the coronavirus outbreak began a few months ago, many delivery drivers wore protective suits and masks, and carried employer-provided hand sanitizer.

Ordering takeout might seem selfish or cruel in this light, but according to Todd May, a philosophy professor at Clemson University, the ethical calculus isn’t quite so simple. He says that people should ask themselves a couple of questions first, including whether the delivery worker will travel alone by bike or car, and whether a mass exodus of delivery business from the area will harm workers more than protect them. “It's the responsibility of the person ordering food to try as best they can to get a grip on that,” May wrote to me in an email.

The places people order from make a difference too. A local restaurant is a better choice than a start-up that sends gig workers with no health-care benefits into crowded big-box grocery stores to fight over dried beans on your behalf. The restaurant delivery person interacts with fewer people, lessening his or her individual risk, and the money you pay for the food goes toward keeping a restaurant’s staff employed through a crisis. In Wuhan, local delivery drivers were the city’s lifeline during a lockdown that made venturing out for fresh food difficult.

Ditching delivery to go to the grocery store isn’t necessarily a safer way to stress-eat, for either individuals or service workers. “Crowded stores would have a greater risk of infection, simply because of numbers of people and density,” Morse, the epidemiologist, explained. Shoppers can avoid some of this risk by dropping in at odd hours or patronizing less popular stores. But the risk of exposure is still far greater for people ringing up groceries than for people buying them, just like it is higher for the delivery drivers bringing food to your door than it is for you.

Many Americans—and especially those with the means to order a lot of delivered food—aren’t used to evaluating these risks to themselves and others. “We’re being asked to think so much more socially than we’re ever, ever asked to think,” says Steven Benko, a professor of religious and ethical studies at Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina. Delivery jobs rarely provide health insurance, and workers still need money to buy Tylenol and cough syrup to control milder cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, or to seek help from an urgent-care clinic. How much should someone tip to help a delivery person afford medicine? “People’s health and their health care is directly tied to their labor in this country,” Benko says.

He also notes that keeping local delivery viable is helpful to people who can’t cook for themselves because of a disability or an illness. In some areas, requests for delivery are through the roof, which could reduce availability for people who rely on food delivery. In any situation with limited resources, the best choice is not to take more than you need, whether that’s the last four packages of disinfectant wipes at Target or the time of a busy delivery driver.

In the United States’ industrialized, centralized food system, for most people no perfectly ethical options exist for eating during a pandemic. But Benko hopes that diners will take as many precautions to safeguard workers in their community as they do to protect themselves, and that they’ll remember how essential service and delivery workers were to their survival once the worst has passed. “We’re so connected to each other and reliant on people working in the background, but we don’t even see who keeps the shelves restocked, or who brings things” to us, he says. “People only become visible to us in the perception that they could harm us, as opposed to becoming visible to us in the fact that they’re taking a risk to their health by being helpful to us.”