When you buy a bell pepper, where does it come from?
In the United States, it might have a sticker that tells you its country of origin. But do you know which variety it is, or how it was fertilized? Or even when it was grown?
Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate student Elizabeth Greene thinks that many of the wrinkles in the world's food supply are caused by a lack of communication.
Each farm knows what it grows and how it grows them. Each distributor knows which farms they do business with. But as fruits and vegetables funnel into the world's massive food distribution system, the details are lost, and a restaurant's supplier buying vegetables on a loading dock really has no idea where they came from or how responsibly they were grown.
"What if [farmers] could even connect with the end consumer rather than being six or seven degrees removed?" said Greene in a follow-up interview conducted via e-mail.
What if produce in the grocery store was labeled with its precise variety, with detailed information about its origin, how it traveled, and how sustainably it was grown?
There are lots of existing technologies, such as mobile phones and the Internet, that could be used to help information travel along with the food. "We have the tools to solve this; this isn't going to require some radical new invention," says Greene. Someday those peppers could be tied back not only to their country, but their farm, and how they were fertilized, watered, and stored.
"The term 'organic' is a proxy for actually having data about the food that you're buying," says Greene--it's a substitute for actually knowing how the food was grown.
She thinks that not only could this information tell us what we're eating, and help us support sustainable and local agriculture, but that it could help address world hunger.
Malnourishment is "in part a result of farmers getting a small piece of the dollar paid for their product," said Greene, and distributing weather, ready buyers, responsible practices, and global market prices -- not just the local price -- could help farmers get top dollar for their food... thus letting them feed their families and bolstering already-low economies.
"Most farmers [in developing countries] have access to mobile" phones, said Greene, which could be used to directly connect restaurants with individual farmers.
Also, these farmers don't have a neutral source of data about how best to use fertilizers or pesticides. "Because they make such a small margin on their crops, farmers in the developing world have an incentive to push their yields as high as they can. They get most of their information about what to plant and spray from their seed and chemical companies," said Greene.
Seems like there are lots of reasons to communicate about our food as it gets from farm to table. So, what's the catch? Cost, for one--the tech required has to come from somewhere. And it's quite possible that big players in the agrochemical or food distribution markets won't be thrilled to change.
But a more insidious barrier might be the difficulty of talking about food. It's a very emotional issue, "and it should be," says Greene. Everyone needs to eat, and many people care about doing it.
"We are thinking in binary terms: food is organic or conventional, local or global, healthy or unhealthy." But an organic-certified product might be shipped across the country--is that better than a locally-grown crop that failed organic certification on a technicality? Or because the farm couldn't afford the certification?
"If I'm buying blueberries and could find out in an instant that one pint was a dollar more than the other because the more expensive blueberries were grown with fewer synthetic chemicals, or could see that by paying a dollar more here I am saving a dollar in long-term health costs, I would able to make an informed decision about my food."
--Chris Combs, National Geographic News, from South by Southwest in Austin, Texas
What Others Had to Say
Added by Jan Buhrman on March 20, 2010
This could be a great idea. This could be an expansion on our current bar code system. And if so our current bar code system should expand for all foods. Consumers should know "the story" behind all of our food. Example: Larger manufacturers should tell us where the ingredients are coming from. For our farmers, we will know their stories and understand their farming practices. With apple apps, we could even see the farms and hear the stories (although do the farmers really need one more technology that allows the world to see what they do?)I do like the idea of knowing my farmer and their practices. This could change the way we understand organic which is suspicious at best!
Added by The Window Man on April 21, 2010
"The term 'organic' is a proxy for actually having data about the food that you're buying,"
What a great line. Let us communicate and organize...but most importantly care. If we all "cared" about what were doing we would have no problems.
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Added by Suzanne'sNorwex on May 7, 2010
It's a great idea but I don't see these foods being labeled anytime soon. Farmers want to mass produce and make their money despite the harm the pesticides and fertilizers can cause. I have a friend who for health purposes is required to eat organic foods only. She washes her produce very carefully and still often gets sick. The only way to guarantee a chemical free fruit or vegetable is to grow them yourself!
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Added by Linda on May 28, 2010
Nice post!!! A nice idea on the whole. The only thing remaining is to take an initiative. Government should appreciate these creative ideas and help in implementing them sooner.
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Added by Green Guy on June 4, 2010
Great idea. I'd love to know who is growing my food so I could determine who grows the best. If I could find a food producer who grows tomatoes that taste like the ones I grow in my garden I would absolutely be a repeat customer.
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Added by J Marshall on June 10, 2010
As long as there is someone willing to pay a premium price for higher quality foods there is probably a market for this idea. And once the big guys see the smaller producers making money, they will go that direction too.
I personally think that it would make for great dinner conversation if you knew the "travels" of the food you are eating.
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Bizarre and sad. You write a food blog on CL. Stop taking yourself so seriously.
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Added by jiji22 on June 16, 2010
But an organic-certified product might be shipped across the country--is that better than a locally-grown crop that failed organic certification on a technicality? Or because the farm couldn't afford the certification?tower defense
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You are so right about this. We definitely need more communication between farmers. There is no telling where this food is coming from.
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Well, it could be very weird to trace all this origin.. it can be helpfull yes in a case of contamination, but tomm much information make it less valuable... scrabble help
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All I feel is Government should appreciate these creative ideas and help in implementing them sooner.
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Seems like there are lots of reasons to communicate about our food as it gets from farm to table. So, what's the catch?
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I personally think that it would make for great dinner conversation if you knew the "travels" of the food you are eating.
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