In talking to people about why they buy or would consider buying locally-grown product, I consistently hear four main reasons:
- I cook. Locally grown food simply tastes better.
- I support my community, including farmers.
- I want to eat healthier and locally grown food has more nutrients.
- I'm scared about the overuse of pesticides on conventionally grown produce. I feel more comfortable buying from a farmer I know.
The interesting thing is that I used to think of the buyers profiled above as distinct groups: health conscious buyers distinct from foodies distinct from people advocating food justice.
Give Me a Reason to Buy Locally
But the reality is that you can start at any one point above, and within a short period of time--sometimes days, sometimes months--slide right into another. Care about taste most? Great! But then it's harder to spray pesticides on the berries you grow in your garden or spray that toxic cleanser you use on your kitchen counter.
Like to support local farmers? Hurray! And you know what? It turns out their food tastes amazing. Funny how food tastes so much better when it was dug out of the ground that morning. With something like a tomato it's not even a fair fight when you try local vs. a tomato that is picked "dead green" and shipped 1,500 miles.
Big CPG (that's consumer packaged goods to you and me) companies didn't focus on green for the longest time. Not big enough they said. Not enough scale. A niche market. Now everyone is jumping on the green bandwagon.
But before that word " green" gets completely mangled beyond recognition, there is real cause for hope. Imagine that Hellman's is coming out with a mayonnaise using cage-free eggs. Okay, that's not local, but it will have an impact on growing practices. Next McDonalds will be featuring organic beef. Actually there was a rumor that was going to happen last year.
Survey Says There's Green in Green
Research featured in a recent marketing post by David Almy talked up the Shelton Group's Eco Pulse 2009 Report, in which researchers asked: "In which product categories are you searching for greener products?"
* Home cleaning products: 75%
* Food and beverages: 65%
* Personal care products (shampoo, lotion, etc.) 55%
* Appliances: 47%
* Home improvement products (windows, insulation, etc.): 46%
* Automobiles: 32%
Now you don't buy a car or an appliance every day but you do buy food every day if you want to survive and cleaning products on a regular basis, too, if you prefer a tidy home.
I felt pretty smart noting in a recent Friend of the Farmer post on organics:
"If every US citizen ate just one meal a week that was composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we would reduce our country's oil consumption by 1.1 million barrels every week. Small changes in buying habits make big differences."
But that statement assumes that people actually care about the big picture. What they really care about is "me"--well, ourselves. Here are the products that will benefit from true green:
"Products That Are Good For Me: Home cleaning, food and beverages, and personal care. People are increasingly concerned with the safety of the products they use in their homes and put in and on their bodies."
In my recent interview with sustainable Chef Peter Hoffman, he was incredulous that people could brag about a fancy watch or car and then a minute later crow about how little they spent on a slice of ham--something they put in their bodies. (click here for more on this interview.)
"Products That Are Good For My Budget: Appliances, home improvement, automobiles. Selling a big-ticket item like a dishwasher or car in a tough economy is hard enough; focusing exclusively on environmental benefits makes it even harder. Saving the planet takes a back seat to personal finances, unless a connection is clearly made between the product and potential future savings. When asked why it's important to reduce energy consumption, 73 % of respondents chose 'to reduce my bills'; 26 % chose 'to lessen my impact on the environment'."
David Almy describes this as his Homer (Simpson) moment.
"While environmentally friendly attributes in a product are important, the real interest lies in what personal benefits the products deliver. In other words: what's in it for them?
By actively promoting a product's greener attributes (e.g. fewer, more recognizable and natural ingredients) marketers have been able to successfully position their wares as improving a personal environment while also benefiting the global environment. Success comes from emphasizing the former rather than the latter.
What's a farmer to do? If you sell steak and it costs a bit more than conventional, suggest to a prospective buyer that "it's so darn satisfying and good for you that you and your family don't need to eat a pound per person. And you might skip that multivitamin when you have grass-fed beef."
If you're a consumer, know that once you start down this slippery slope there's no going back, unless your budget really can't take it.
How can you buy Mrs. Meyer Lemon Verbena countertop spray and then get a steak that was grown in half the time of its grass-fed cousins through the use of antibiotics and feedlots. You can't--or at least it's a lot harder. And that's good news whether you're working as a marketer for a big CPG company or a producer in small sustainable farming communities like those in Litchfield County or The Berkshires.
Further Reading
Organic Food is Not Just for Rich People
Great Questions to Ask Your Farmer
"It's the Sustainability, Stupid."