Supply chain is a word I am sure we have all become too familiar with from
the last year or so of general "supply chain issues". The farm-to-table
principle is not so simple, there is still a complex supply chain to be
followed. To incorporate these principles and still meet consumer demands
could be as simple as forming a relationship with the local farmers.
Spotlighting the farmers to the public and openly supporting them to the
community will draw interest to the farm from the community.
There are numerous risks and benefits to incorporating farm-to-table
principles into the grocery chain's supply chain. The shortening of the supply
chain to being local would help with sustainability efforts as there would be
less emissions from food transport. There is also the benefit of satisfying
demands from customers for fresh foods. However, with the shortening of
the supply chain also comes risks. ". . . removing those intermediaries makes
it harder to control food safety. Smaller suppliers might not be subject to the
same regulatory oversight that a big producer would be, and they lack the
resources of large commercial farms and food processors to do thorough and
regular ingredient testing. Cutting out intermediaries could also mean
reducing the number of quality control checkpoints" (Dwyer, 2017). Another
risk involved is leeching the sustainability from the farms. Most of what I
have learned about people is that they are creatures of habit. Not always open
to trying new things, and always demanding what they already know they
want. This can be an issue for farms because to keep soil healthy and rich, the
same thing can not be grown over and over and over in the same place.
". . .in his new book. . . Barber mantains that the movement he has
championed hasn’t gone far enough. It has failed. . . to create markets for the
diverse crops that a sustainable farm needs to maintain a rich, healthy soil. In
an interview . . . Barber. . . says that if the farm-to-table movement is to truly
support sustainability, end the rise of monocultures, and produce delicious
food, it’s the table that must support the farm, not the other way around. And
that, he says, calls for a new way of cooking and eating." (Toomey, 2014)
A relationship with the local farms is always a good place to start, regardless
of the decision going forward. Learning about how they work their supply
chain, and the processes the farm use to supply the produce is essential.
Knowing how much they have produced and what they project each year is
also useful to have an idea of the supply available to satisfy the demand.
For me, as the COO, the largest factors that will determine whether or not I
would support applying farm-to-table principles to the supermarket will have
to do with the level of demand and how we can encourage the sustainability.
I would want to know how the farms are handling their produce, and what
measures they are using to increase sustainability, and what we could do to
help encourage the improvement of it. I would also like to know how serious
the consumer demand truly is for the farm-to-table principles. Personally, I
love farm-to-table, farmers markets are my favorite place to go in the
summer, and supporting local is the only way to ensure that local remains an
option.
Dwyer, K. (2017, October 12).Farm-to-table's Food Safety Perils. Risk &
Insurance. Retrieved January 28, 2022,
fromhttps://riskandinsurance.com/farm-tables-food-safety-perils/
Toomey, D. (2014).How to make farm-to-table a truly sustainable
movement. Yale E360. Retrieved January 28, 2022,
fromhttps://e360.yale.edu/features/interview_dan_barber_how_to_make_far
m-to-table_a_truly_sustainable_movement
