The Future of Organics
BC's Organic Egg Market Struggles for Autonomy
By J. Dara Bloom
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The organic industry has reached an exciting time of growth as it catches the eye of mainstream culture. Big name corporations like Dole and Heinz sell organic bananas and ketchup, leaving a wary consumer to wonder what the organic label actually means. Is it a marketing ploy aimed at extracting a few more dollars from politically correct pockets, or does it represent a group of farmers committed to a method of production that has at its heart the well being of earth, product and consumer?
The future of organics as an industry has come sharply into focus here in BC with the battle over control of the organic egg market. In 1998 the BC Egg Marketing Board seized Rabbit River Farms, and by 2000 had targeted Fred Reid, owner of Olera Farms, for producing eggs without purchasing quotas or paying levies; in other words, for producing outside of the supply management system. After years of negotiations and court battles, Fred has been shut down and owes about $100,000 of back levies to the Marketing Board, while Rabbit River Farms is in negotiations to produce within the Marketing Board’s framework. Fred and other farmers have filed a class action suit which should be in court in February of 2005 and they also await the results of Brad Reid’s appeal of an injunction against his farm, Thomas Reid Farms. Brad is appealing the decision of Madam Justice Smith, who decided in the case against him that, “A chicken is a chicken,” and that therefore control of organic eggs lies within the jurisdiction of the Marketing Board. Brad and most organic farmers disagree.
They insist that the difference lies in the production method. In the wake of the avian flu, these differences are even more pronounced. Organic farmers insist that they did not see the same type of mortality rates that conventional farms experienced, and protest losing genetically valuable chickens which were able to withstand the avian flu. In their point of view, the avian flu has always existed, but is manageable when a chicken’s natural immunity is bolstered through exposure. On conventional farms, the fact that chickens live in an environment that is totally controlled means that once the disease infected one bird, it was able to rapidly move through the highly populated barn.
But it is not just the access to the outdoors, the use of organic feed and the refusal of antibiotics that makes an organic egg special. 70% of organic eggs being produced at the moment come from farms with mixed production. When an organic barn stands side by side with one that houses conventionally raised hens, one begins to wonder what it means to say that a chicken or an egg is organic. Is it only about the biological nature of the chicken, or is there a deeper philosophy that isn’t reflected when organic chickens share space on an industrial farm? On a holistically organic farm, the chicken is part of a diverse system and fits into a broader philosophy of sustainability. Fred’s chickens kept pests in check and weeded his raspberry patch. Unlike large, conventional farms that face problems disposing of waste, on an organic farm chicken manure becomes an essential part of a sustainable system. Says Alyson Chisholm of Glen Valley Organic Farm Cooperative, “It’s a lifestyle, not just a business.”
The lifestyle of the small, sustainable organic farmer is being jeopardized as the Marketing Board asserts its ownership over what they see as a niche market. What Alyson and other small producers are experiencing is their effective squeezing out of the market. Conventional farms have, on average, 17,000 hens. Fred dominated the organic market with 9,000. With 300 hens, Alyson would have to join the Marketing Board, or reduce her flock to 99. “Anyone with more than 99 laying hens will be affected if we can’t exempt organic eggs from the Marketing Board, or up the number to 499 like it is in Alberta. The number assigned to us- 99- they’re really keeping people in their place… Nobody on that level of management wants to manage a lot of little farms; they want a couple of big farms, so there’s no room for us. If you’re small enough to be below quota, then you’re not making a living; you’re either a hobby farmer or large scale- there’s nothing in between if the Marketing Board wins the right to manage.”
Up till now, all promotion and marketing of organic eggs has been done by the farmers themselves. In 1991, Fred went to the Marketing Board when he was developing organic standards for eggs. The Marketing Board decided at that time to focus its energy on free run and free range, saying that organic eggs and the corresponding standards were just too difficult to produce. Fred and his brothers built the industry slowly, beginning with an organic feed mill and installing a grading station. Fred cites his success, specifically his ability to sell organic eggs in the mainstream supermarkets, as one of the reasons that the Marketing Board decided to target him. In 1999 Fred went out on a limb and convinced IGA to sell his eggs by taking the risk and offering to buy back whatever wasn’t sold. As Fred experienced mainstream success, the Marketing Board decided to charge back levies on Fred as a producer and handler of organic eggs. “They came down on us and we paid dearly for being where we already were. We paid dearly developing that market,” says Fred.
Organic chicken farmers resist the idea that they should pay quota and levies to the Marketing Board, money that would be used to bolster the very system of industrial farming that they diametrically oppose. As a part of the marketing board, most farmers anticipate that the industry’s growth would be stifled. They would be forced to pass on the additional charges of quota and levies, which would raise prices on a product that is already highly priced due to steeper production costs. In addition, they feel that organic eggs would not get the individual marketing that they deserve. BC Egg Producers lump organic eggs in with Specialty Eggs, which include Free run, Free range, and Omega 3 eggs. According to the Marketing Board, this is done to give consumers a choice. As Peter Whitlock, the General Manager of BC Egg Producers says, “Our position is that all the specialty eggs are different in their own way and that all of them have been developed in a process keeping in mind what the consumer is looking for. Organics is a specialty product, a change of what they’re looking for. Organics is one of many ways to differentiate.”
According to organic farmers, saying that organics are another specialty egg is actually done to diminish the differences between organic eggs and conventional eggs. In response to the Marketing Board’s classification of Organic eggs, Brad Reid says, “To make the comment, ‘Oh, it’s just another egg, just another product,’ is insulting to the consumer and to the organic producers. We are not just another egg product and it’s not just a brand name, not just a way to convince people to buy something, it’s that the actual production is different, and that’s why there has to be separation. Organic producers promote them because they’re better for the bird, better for the environment and better for the consumer. The Egg Board’s not going to go to the consumer and say, ‘Oh yeah, Organic, it’s a Cadillac because it’s the best for everything.’ I don’t think their other 300 chicken producers are going to appreciate it. So why should we have to pay them levies for marketing if they’re not marketing?” His brother Fred agrees, saying that emphasizing the difference between organic eggs and conventional eggs would reflect poorly on the industry. He refuses to hand over pricing to the Marketing Board because he believes they would, “set the price [of organic eggs] above free range eggs to protect their market.”
The general consensus among farmers and the Marketing Board alike is that the function of the Marketing Board is to monitor production according to demand in order to keep prices stable. This is beneficial to a farmer in a market that is saturated with its product and helps to ensure that producers get a fair price and the average consumer gets what they have come to expect- cheap eggs. Susan Davidson, a small farmer at the Fraser Common Farm Cooperative points out that with organic eggs supply is much lower than demand and therefore there’s not really a need for regulation. The organic market is just developing and would only be restrained by quotas, levies and the loss of differentiation that would occur if it were under the Marketing Board’s control. At one percent of the market, right now organic eggs are not really threatening prices or affecting the conventional egg market. Once the industry has grown, perhaps reaching three or five percent of the overall market, then Fred and Brad can accept the need to have some type of supply management. Even then, though, they hope to be able to exempt organics from the Marketing Board, perhaps forming an Organic Marketing Board or Cooperative.
There are precedents for exempting certain products from marketing boards. Hatching egg producers and pepper producers have both been able to vote themselves in and out of their respective boards. BC wine makers were able to more extensively develop their market when they were able to assert their artisanship outside of the wine marketing board instead of being pooled together. Higher prices, loss of individuality and less promotion make organic egg producers fear becoming part of the Egg Board. By denying them the right of choosing whether or not to be a part of the Marketing Board, organic egg farmers feel that the Marketing Board is expressing ownership and not regulation, and many fault the government for not stepping in to stem the Marketing Board’s power.
With the avian flu outbreak, things for small organic producers are looking even worse. Apart from the devastating loss of biodiversity, many organic farmers feel threatened by the possibility of being subjected to stricter biosecurity measures. Any enforcement of sanitization methods using harsh chemicals could jeopardize their organic certification standing. There’s also concern that these measures will be used to limit repopulation of backyard flocks. With millions of dollars expected to be shelled out as compensation to the industry, organic farmers are quick to point out that we, as taxpayers, are paying dearly for the supposedly lower prices of conventional eggs. As Aimee Watson of Fraser Common Farms Cooperative says, “Consumers go to what’s cheaper, but the reality is not that [organics] are more expensive, but that [with conventional items] your money’s going to places that, if you knew about them, you might not support.” She emphasizes just how important it is for consumers to take ownership over their food and to realize that subsidies, government bailouts and pollution from transportation are the hidden costs behind conventionally produced, “cheap”, food.
Consumers are, after all, responsible for the growth of the organic industry. People who buy organic eggs are willing to pay more money to support a system that they believe is better for people, the earth, and the birds. And no doubt, the industry follows consumers’ dollars. Peter Whitlock’s comment about giving the consumer more choices gives ultimate control of the market to the buyer. As the organic market grows in size and success, the responsibility of the consumer becomes more complicated. Whereas once buying organic was the rule, now consumers have to be aware of even more variables. They have to realize that it’s not just about the organic label, it’s about knowing where their food is coming from, knowing about the politics behind the marketing of organics, and choosing what kind of production method they want to support. Consumers need to determine the value of the organic label; they must decide if they believe in a deeper philosophy that goes beyond marketing and goes to the very heart of the farmers they choose to support.
If you want to learn more, visit Organic Friends of the Future at www.organics.bc.ca. Concerned consumers can also join the post card writing campaign run out of Capers and Choices.
