Cookstown Greens

It is sometimes difficult to justify the higher prices locally grown foods often demand.  High subsidies for American and European exports, transport and farms make it difficult for Canadian farmers to compete.  American brokers then "dump" any excess production into Canada at low prices in order to maintain high prices in the U.S.   (Confirm this yourself by taking a trip to Buffalo and see the lower prices.)  To provide justification to choose local, this list will to help you make more sustainable purchasing decisions.

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In April 2004 I received an email from Slow Food® Italy requesting me to attend (all expenses paid) a World Meeting of Food Communities in Turin, Italy with about 5,000 small-scale food producers from about 130 countries.  It seemed too good to be true.  The only hitch was that coming from a “northern” (first world) country I was requested to arrange my own airfare – preferably from a local sponsor.

I would request one of our best customers to pay the $1000+ airfare.  Martin Kouprie at Pangaea Restaurant was the first one I asked.  Without a moment’s hesitation he replied, “Of course I will!”  Education of staff is an important part of his agenda; and he considers key suppliers part of his staff.  Thank you Martin and Peter for flying me to Turin!

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PRINCE CHARLES SPEECH ON AGRICULTURE

Terra Madre -- Agriculture The Most Important Of Humanity's Productive Activities

By HRH The Prince of Wales, who gave the closing speech on October 23, 2004 in Turin, Italy

Ladies and Gentlemen, I can't tell you how pleased I am to be with you today and to share in this vitally important discussion about the future of small scale agriculture and of artisan food producers throughout the world.

The fact that no fewer than 5,000 food producers have gathered here today, under the "Slow Food" banner, is a small but significant challenge to the massed forces of globalization, the industrialization of agriculture and the homogenization of food - which seem somehow to have invaded almost all areas of our life today.

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by James MacKinnon and Jeremy Nelson for Adbusters

with italic additions by David Cohlmeyer of Cookstown Greens

Picture your local mega-market, with its apples from New Zealand, carrots from California, tomatoes from a place a two-week drive away. The average item we toss in the grocery bag has traveled 1,300 miles from where it was produced. How on earth do these long-distance veggies compete with local produce?

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Purchasing Patterns of Organic Products by High-End Toronto Chefs: An In-Depth Analysis

by Lara Cohlmeyer

A thesis submitted to the Department of Geography in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts with Honours

Peterborough, Ontario

April 2005

Abstract

With the recent rise in organic food consumption, there is much known about the organic purchasing patterns of general consumers but there is little literature that discusses perceptions and reasoning for purchasing organic products from the perspective of high-end chefs.  This formed the focus of this qualitative study that interviewed eight chefs of high-end restaurants located in the financial district of downtown Toronto, Ontario in order to better understand their purchasing patterns.  These conversations were recorded, transcribed and analyzed to identify common themes that emerged from the data.

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Why are chefs paying more for food; while farmers are earning less?

Agribusiness is Canada’s second largest industry (after automobiles).  The heart of this industry is Canada’s farms.  But they are being squeezed out of existence by both their suppliers and their customers.  Cookstown Green’s biggest savior has been various farm subsidies.  But these have been virtually eliminated in recent years.  Adding to this loss we must struggle even harder to compete with ever more generous U.S., Chinese, Chilean, and E.U. farm and export subsidies.  A scary development is that new farmers are no longer entering our industry as indicated by “the average farmer’s age is approaching 58!”  A related problem is evermore reliance on imported food and the disappearance local food production expertise.  We could very suddenly have serious shortages of food and be unable to do anything about it.  The following is a short extract from a report on the current Farm Crisis by the National Farmer’s Union (NFU).

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Soil Testing, Consulting Services, & Educational Programs

The early 1970s was a period to increase the farm’s production acreage. As farms increased in size, not only did input costs rise but, more importantly, farmers had less time to dedicate to problem observation. This resulted in the use of more fertilizers and pesticides primarily as insurance against the possibility of crop loss to weeds or insects.

   The concept for Bio-Systems began in the mid-70s as it became evident that using increased amounts of more expensive fertilizers and pesticides did not make economic sense with stable market prices.  The solution was in soil fertility.

   The keys to soil fertility are humus and microscopic soil biology. An efficiently working biological soil system will produce crops that require fewer inputs while maintaining yields and improving crop quality. As the soil biology increases, crop nutrition will be improved and the farm will see greater disease and insect resistance.

   Grower education is an integral part of a successful biological program. Bio-Systems soil management system will work for any size farm as long as the farmer wants to understand the soil. The end result will be enhanced high quality production, with reduced input costs.

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“The Organic Soil Test, Soil Quality and Food Quality Relationship”

Presenter Joe Scrimger

Bio-Systems, Marlette, MI 

Soil testing on Organic Farms has held some controversy just as it has on conventional farms in the past. Some Organic farms soil test and utilize information from the test while other farms take the test because they are required to certify.  In this seminar we want to accomplish an understanding of the soil test and how it can be a valuable tool on your farm. The soil test can help you build a soil system that will not only produce chemical free, but also nutritionally balanced crops that are more pest and disease resistant while being better feed for animals or food for people.

I come to this process after spending 25 years looking for answers in relation to degenerative diseases, specifically cancer and to some extent heart disease, and how it relates to the production practices used in our food systems. The goal of this presentation will not only be to learn about the soil test, but by the end of the seminar be able to relate to the process of how properly grown food will help reduce degenerative disease in our societies and to learn the value that this process holds for our farms and our communities.

“Why soil test?” To make sure we are all on the same page, we are looking for indicators that will help us map the way to economically build a healthy productive soil. I view the soil test process as not an exact science, but rather as a relative science that along with a proper recommendation sends you in an organized direction to build your soil in an economical manner that fits your farming operation.

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