Market for organic foods can only grow

[S.Annadana]

Market for organic foods can only grow
Posted 14 hours ago
Hats off to the Quinte Organic Farmers' Co-operative for having recently been awarded the New Co-operative Distinction Award from the Ontario Co-operative Association.

It's truly a feather in the cap of the local organic farming community that it has been recognized by a provincial association of like-minded farmers.

Here's hoping, too, that the award inspires other farmers in Quinte to see the benefits of organic farming and to consider devoting some or all of their cash crop farming efforts to organics.

Local co-op president Achim Mohssen-Beyk says the award is a recognition of not only the hard work put in by the well-organized local co-operative, but of a trend in agriculture and food awareness in the province.

"The reason I think we're well-known and successful is we're involved in two things that have an upswing right now - organic food and co-operatives," he said.

Indeed it's heartening to see farmers once again - as they had in decades long gone by - working in a co-operative manner. There was a time when local dairy farmers, for instance, formed co-operatives to ensure their milk was used and made into one of Quinte's most famous foods, cheese. Co-operatives formed in the latter part of the 1800s and early 1900s as cheese factories by the dozen flourished throughout the area.

Let's hope the pioneer spirit of co-operatives helps organic farming enjoy some of the prosperity the local cheese industry came to know in its heyday.

And there's no reason it shouldn't. Trying to find anyone who is critical of organic foods or organic food farming is almost impossible.

It can't be argued that natural foods, grown without the introduction of herbicides or pesticides, are less healthy than those grown in current large-scale farming practices where the rush to deliver it to grocery stores is done at the expense of letting nature take its course.

World-wide, the benefits of organic foods are being hailed.

The World Health Organization affiliate, Pan American Health Organization, has issued a policy statement that some organic foods should be introduced in every healthy diet.

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"The overall consensus is that there cannot be any harm in individuals consuming a varied diet that includes a lot of fruits and vegetables and if it is possible, including some organic foods in their varied diet."

The difficulty, however, for organic farming is monetary. There's no argument that organic foods cost more because they cost more to produce owing to their labour-intensive nature.

Where pesticides and other unnatural means of farming take a lot of the work out of large-scale farming, closely watching and nurturing crops to ensure a profitable, fresh and pest-free product means more time and expense for farmers.

But, as with anything in the world of supply and demand, prices will gradually begin to fall as more consumers demand organics and more producers answer the call.

It's not unusual, then, that organic farmers currently find it difficult to compete at local farmers markets with crops that have either been grown locally using modern methods or come from the Ontario Food Terminal and trucked in from other producers across the province or even outside our borders.

As prices are almost double for some products, consumers are still slow to see the advantages of paying more for a healthier product.

"Belleville is a hot spot for organic farmers, but the market is not there," said co-op member John van der Heyden, owner of Wooler Dale Farm in Wooler. "We're going to have to decide if we're going to do (the Belleville Farmers' Market) next year or not."

We would hope some presence remains on the market here for organic produce as we support the benefits of the produce grown by local farmers and applaud their efforts to continue doing what they do so well.

The Intelligencer is a member of The Canadian Press and the Canadian Newspaper Association. Our circulation is audited by CCAB Inc.

Tim Devine

Amy Doyle

Article ID# 832895