The Farmer Consumer Divide
A while back I was traveling for work and had the unique opportunity to join in conversation with farmers and food companies around the same table. The conversation that ensued over dinner and the following day has continued to replay as I make my daily eating choices. I look at my food and wonder how far from the farm it traveled, what actually went into making my meal, and who were the farmers that grew the crop. From the other side of the equation, I ponder how food companies are marketing their products, what are they trying to portray to consumers with their brand, and how are they connecting with the producers that supply key ingredients for their products.
Even with all of the labels and food marketing it is still extremely difficult to really understand what is happening on the farms that are growing the ingredients for the foods we love. With the exception of shopping at farmers markets, the general population doesn’t have an opportunity to hear the story of the men and women that grow our feed, fuel and fiber. Farmers markets are a great opportunity to meet farmers and understand a little bit more about food production; however, food from the market isn’t always representative of the complex system that most of our food goes through in the U.S.. There are so many diverse types of farms in the U.S. that go unexplored by the average consumer.
The majority of our food is not produced in a CSA model (Community Supported Agriculture) or on a small vegetable farm. The ingredients that go into the foods that we purchase at the grocery store are more than likely grown on larger operations. The food then goes through a complex food chain to reach the grocery store shelves. Often, no matter the label, organic, non-GMO, natural, or other labels that are slapped on a product, we don’t really know the farmer or the practices that went into growing our food.
We don’t know what the farmer got paid for their crops, we don’t know what practices that farmer used to conserve their soil, or what crop mix is on the operation. Despite the few labels that do exist, we don’t have a way to see into the daily life of a farmer.
On the other side of the table, the average farmer’s understanding of consumer food preferences is also very limited. The urban consumers’ food choices are so foreign to the average rural farmer. The thought of paying incredibly high prices for an heirloom organic grain or paying high dollar amounts for unprocessed whole chickpeas is simply a foreign concept.
At this same conversation with both farmers and food companies I brought up a picture on my phone from a small natural foods store in my neighborhood in San Francisco. It showed a 1 lb bag of whole raw chickpeas being sold for $6.49/lb. Now take a guess what these farmers in Montana get for their chickpeas… $.30/lb. Yes a lot of the money that went into that niche bag of chickpeas was the marketing dollars spent and getting it on the grocery store shelves. But think about if just a small portion of that extra profit could go back to the farmer. Often times there are so many middle men between the farmer and the end product that margins are cut slim and the end product is so far removed from the soil that grew the crop that there is no way to trace it back to its roots.
Photo of a field of chickpeas side by side with a bag of chickpeas on a grocery store shelf.
I believe that we need to find a way to get more farmers in front of consumers. The story of how our food is grown and gets from farm to plate is an important one. And this is a story that not many Americans get to see unfold. Maybe the answer isn’t just more labels but the answer is to start folding in the farmer into the story of how the food got on that grocery store shelf. We have a long way to go to create a truly transparent and sustainable food chain. However, a good starting point is increasing awareness and education to consumers on how their food is grown. So if you ever get the chance to talk to a farmer, please do! Take the chance to learn more about where your food comes from and say thanks to the men and women that grow it.
*Previously published on Medium in February of 2018. Due to international trade disputes and tariffs, the price that farmers receive for chickpeas is now much lower than the price mentioned above.