A Bright Future for Farming: Vermont Can Lead the Way
By Vern Grubinger

The commerce of food, and therefore farming, is dominated by oligopolies. At every level—from sales of agricultural inputs, to purchasing of raw commodities, to processing of food into branded products, to retailing of food to consumers—a handful of enormous corporations control a majority of the transactions.

For example, major suppliers of chemicals and seeds for farmers are Bayer, Dow, DuPont, Monsanto, and Syngenta. Purchases of raw products produced from farmers are dominated by Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill, ConAgra, Smithfield, and Tyson/IBP. Food manufacturing giants that create most of the branded products on store shelves are Coca-Cola, Mars, Nestlé, Pepsico, Philip Morris, and Unilever. And finally, a huge share of these products are sold to consumers at stores owned by Ahold (Stop and Shop, Giant, Tops), Albertsons (Hannafords, Shaws, Star Market), Carrefour, Kroger, Wal-Mart, and a few others.

The clout of the top food retailers in the world staggers the imagination. Wal-Mart has 5,760 stores in 13 countries with $285 billion in sales. Carrefour has 11,080 stores in 37 countries with $90 billion in sales. Ahold has 7,078 stores in 15 countries with $65 billion in sales. Kroger operates 4,169 stores in the U.S. with $56 billion in retail sales. By comparison, the 120 food co-ops in the national cooperative grocers association have annual retail sales of $625 million.

The situation is not unique to farming and food; a similar scenario exists in banking, books, hardware, movies, music…you name it, even beer. A handful of multinational corporations dominate in many specific market categories where new companies rarely succeed; those that do are purchased or run out of business.

Some people say that it is precisely this economic system which brings us abundant and cheap food. But the problem, according to the Agribusiness Accountability Initiative, is that “far too few consumers realize that they actually pay for their ‘cheap food' three times: at the check-out counter, again through their tax bill, and finally by assuming the long-term social and environmental costs of unsustainable production methods. Thanks to market distortions, public subsidies and tax avoidance, corporate oligopoly power in the food system actually results in a massive transfer of resources from farmers, workers, and consumers into the coffers of an ever-smaller number of transnational companies.”

A more subtle consequence of disproportionate corporate power in the food system is a disconnect between farms, food, communities, and healthy people. Instead, the focus is on development of false relationships with imaginary people and fake farms in order to create brand loyalty to lousy products. What's lost is value-driven decision-making that honors our humanity, embraces the joy of stewardship, and celebrates the sanctity of life, albeit in some kind of balance with the need to turn a profit.

In this context, it's no wonder that the United States is steadily losing farms, farmers, and farmland. Nor is it surprising that there's an epidemic of “diabesity” as people make bad nutritional choices from a menu of cheap foods that are ubiquitous in the malls and the media, accompanied by billions of dollars of mis-education posing as advertising.

We need a healthy, successful, alternative model for all to see and many to follow. That's where Vermont comes in.

As the most rural state in the nation in terms of percent of the population living in small towns, and as a state with a rich tradition of self-sufficiency and practicality, we are an ideal place to bring a sustainable food system to life. A lot of the components of the system already exist in various stages of development in Vermont, including a diversity of agricultural products, a wealth of creative farmers, a populace with an exceptional affinity for family farming and healthy food, and an unusually high proportion of “alternative” markets: independent grocers, general stores, food co-ops, farmer's markets, roadside stands, community supported agriculture (CSA), as well as restaurants and institutions that buy local as much as they can.
How can we bring this cauldron of possibility to a boil? It will take leadership from the top to put the necessary policies in place, and a critical mass of Vermonters to bring them to life. A wide range of individuals and organizations will be needed to participate in the creation of our sustainable food system. Mutually beneficial partnerships will have to be developed among diverse groups: state and local agencies, educational institutions, food companies, advocacy organizations, consumer groups, and farmers. But it can be done.
The first step is to develop a shared vision. Vermont really can be a place where a wide range of healthy food is produced on our own well-managed farms, where farmers earn a fair and stable profit, where communities enjoy economic development associated with local food commerce and where people live better, longer, and happier lives because they eat well.

The vision has to be accompanied by an interconnected set of measurable goals. More farms, more farmers, more food processors, distributors, and market outlets. Less farmland development, less agricultural chemical use, less reliance on wholesale commodity sales, less junk food sold to children.

It will take a progressive but realistic set of incentives to involve all the players we need. But most of these will turn out to be no-brainers in a long-term analysis. Serving fresh, local food in schools will turn out to improve educational performance while reducing childhood obesity. In hospitals, the same food will enhance patient health and speed recovery. In colleges and universities enrollment and retention will improve along with the menus. More farm stands and farmer's markets will increase tourism revenues.

Agriculture and food processing is already an economic engine in Vermont, estimated to be worth $2.6 billion annually. Through meaningful “buy local” incentives for companies and institutions, we could aim to double this figure with a very small public investment.

We'll need a lot of new farmers in our sustainable food system, and they don't come from thin air. In fact, they don't even come from farms that much anymore. Vermont is already a very attractive place to the urban and suburban kids that are turning out to be the farmers of the future, but we can do much more to encourage people to make a career of farming. How about interest-free loans or small grants to help new farmers get started, a new farm venture capital fund, and a farmer's retirement fund just like teachers have?

Vermont has done a great job of protecting farmland through the purchase of conservation easements, and that effort should continue, but even more needs to be done in the face of rising land values and development pressure. Local and regional officials, land-use planners, and agricultural commissions need to work together not only to identify the best farmland and how it can be protected, but also to raise funds for market development and infrastructure that will help farmers succeed economically on that land.

Innovation and stewardship are rampant on Vermont's farms. We have farmers developing and using all kinds of renewable energy resources, from biodiesel to wind power to electricity from manure. There are new products appearing all the time, including winter-hardy grapes, artisan cheeses, and local meats. Nationwide, we lead the way in organic production on a per-capita basis, with over 300 certified farms, including a booming organic dairy sector, up from three farms in 1994 to 78 last year. Let's find simple and straightforward ways to encourage, recognize, and reward these farms for their good deeds, both in policy and in the marketplace.

Finally, we've got to take a page from the system we're up against, by spreading the word and staying on message. Tell one, tell all, then tell them again. We grow the best food in Vermont; we sell the best food in Vermont; we eat the best food in Vermont.