Food that Didn't Make it to the Table (Pt. 1)

I went to our Good Food Community farms up north and saw the abundance of food that didn't even make it to the market. In this article, I'll share some thoughts on how to give organic agriculture a fighting chance against the big boys of conventional farming through CSA.

If you don't trust the supermarket anymore, growing your own food in your own backyard seems to be the most logical (and trendy!) thing to do if you want to eat safe and organic vegetables. It's a satisfying process. From germinating the seeds to harvesting and cooking it ala Jamie Oliver, it's an experience that gives you satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment.

I envision a world where every home has a functional garden. A place where we can spend our idle moments and work on things that would give us life. You know, instead of watching TV and playing games on the computer for hours.

Unfortunately, most of us have fallen into a trap wherein spare time has become a rarity. Realistically speaking, not all of us have time for maintaining a fully-functioning garden. Enumerate your reasons here: ________.

The world has been unfair to us organic farmers. To be certified organic, we have to fork out thousands of Pesos to get each of our crops certified every year. And to make up for the cost, we need to sell in a niche market with premium prices. It's just not practical. (Majority of us are not certified, FYI. People just trust us)

The reality is organic farmers simply just can't compete with conventional farmers who can stock supermarket shelves everyday with shiny produce. The latter can grow vegetables faster and more efficiently thanks to synthetic fertilizers, chemical pesticides, and employing environmentally-harmful methods like stripping an entire mountain bare and planting broccoli...imagine a broccoli mountain! Talk about ecological imbalance.

Conventional farmers can sell their produce at a significantly lower price because they simply have enough "technology" to produce more. They're large-scale vegetable manufacturers.

 

If we really intend to live healthy and save a dying planet, we need to make bold moves.

Here are two ways you can give organic agriculture a fighting chance:

1) As stated above, grow your own vegetables;

2) And subscribe to a CSA (community shared/supported agriculture)

Organic farmers just can't stock shelves the way conventional farmers do. And the conventional market setup simply won't work for them. The CSA model gives them assurance of market demand, profit and capital for the next season from their loving and trusting clients. It gives them a reason to keep on going as they demonstrate to other farmers that organic agriculture can be a very financially-rewarding career that can take care of their families. In the future, it should make no sense not to buy organic produce!

How does CSA work? There are 2 groups who share similar approaches to the CSA  business model. One is an established group while the other is a start-up:

1) Good Food Community, Quezon City

Contact Details: hello@goodfoodcommunity.com; 0906-433-2324

Type: Social Enterprise

Range: Metro Manila

Sources: Capas, Tarlac; La Trinidad, Benguet; and Bauko, Mt. Province

Payment: Upfront (farmers get the money upon payment)

Style: Subscriptions (4-week and 12-week commitments)

Clients: Subscribers/Stakeholders

Vegetable Options: Pre-assembled basket sets - Bayong Pambahay (for cooking); Salad Pack; and Juice Pack

Advantage/s: Farmers can plan what and how much to plant based on the number of subscribers. Good Food Community does the marketing for them, helping the farmers focus on production.

Thrill: Subscribers are informed of the contents of the baskets 2 days before the delivery. Subscribers can visit the farms.

2) The Beige Table, Los Banos (starting in May 2015)

Contact Details: 0922-455-0522

Type: Vegetable Stand

Range: Los Banos

Sources: Nu Wave Farmers, Los Banos

Payment: Upfront/Prepaid

Style: Membership (Monthly and quarterly membership options)

Clients: Members

Vegetable Options: Any vegetable on display at the stand

Advantage/s: Members can choose which vegetables to get which they already paid for at discounted prices. Farmers get to coordinate and program what crops to grow so nothing goes to waste.

Thrill: The farms are nearby and the members can visit as often as they like.

Organic agriculture is still truckloads away from being able to accomplish what conventional agriculture has done in terms of providing a stable food supply. Well, at the expense of degrading the environment. But we can do something to change that. We have soooo much organic produce lying around in our local farms and they need to go somewhere and nourish someone. 

Think about how you can help: grow your own or simply support others who do.