Building a Sustainable Food System

What is a sustainable food (red meat) system?

 We hope the following article helps our readers to ask the important questions detailed below when deciding on where and from whom to make their food purchases. Help us set the standards for what the word “Sustainable” can and should mean. We are all part of building a sustainable food system and when we all work together healthy, affordable, fair food will become a reality for all Maine people.

There are many definitions and variations for the concept of what it means to be sustainable. There are many different types of sustainability. Among the most common are: environmental, economic, social and cultural. When discussing food we tend to think of agricultural sustainability. For the purpose of this discussion we are going to focus on food system sustainability and not just sustainable agriculture. More importantly we will be focusing on exploring the issues surrounding a sustainable local food system for the production, processing, distribution and consumption of locally raised red meats.

UC Davis has a clearly defined what is most important in any sustainable food system. When farmers, consumers and communities partner to create a more self-reliant food economy they achieve the following goals:

 A stable base of family farms that use sustainable production practices and emphasizes local inputs.

• Marketing and processing practices that create more direct links between farmers and consumers 
• Improved access by all community members to an adequate, affordable, nutritious diet 
• Food and agriculture-related businesses that create jobs and recirculate financial capital within the community Improved living and working conditions for farm and food system labor 
• Creation of food and agriculture policies that promote local or sustainable food production, processing and consumption 
• Adoption of dietary behaviors that reflect concern about individual, environmental and community health

(UC Davis. www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/cdpp/cfsdefinition.htm)

Who are the Players?

Studies of sustainability and sustainable issues tend to focus on upstream issues as related to one segment rather than addressing the eco-system as a whole. Sustainable agriculture, sustainable energy and sustainable living are a few examples. If we are to create sustainability for the producer (farmer) – social, economic and environmental – how does that relate to sustainability for the consumer? What responsibility does the producer have to produce an economically viable product for all consumers? What is the responsibility of the consumer in a sustainable food system? Can a sustainable farmer exist without a distributor? What does it mean to be a sustainable processor or distributor? Because the processor and distributor are middle men, are their needs less than the producer or the consumer? We will discuss how each segment of a sustainable food system functions and interacts with the other groups.  

The processor

Farmers raising animals for meat in Maine face a conundrum – a growing market for their products, but limited options for fulfilling market demand. The growing interest in buying fresh, local foods and concerns about industrial raised meat was highlighted by the February 2008 recall of 143 million pounds of tainted meat from one meatpacking facility (Martin, Andrew. U.S. Moves to Prohibit Beef from Sick or Injured Cows. New York Times, May 21, 2008.). This and other food safety recalls have driven up demand for local, sustainable meats. And now, with dramatic increases in the cost of grain and fuel it’s very likely that small farms making use of pastureland, instead of fossil fuel dependent farming methods will become cost competitive to a broader customer base.

While many farmers are optimistic about the market potential of their products, they are unable to meet the growing demand due to the shortage of slaughter capacity. Farmers face significant barriers to getting their animals slaughtered – rising fuel costs and longer distances to existing facilities, long waits and unpredictable scheduling at slaughter and processing facilities, and increased processing fees (due to higher demand and less competition, increased energy costs, etc.), to name a few. Farmers are finding it impossible to meet market demand for local meat and are choosing to constrict their businesses until they have clearer options for processing.

The results of a 2008 CISA study illustrate that there is sufficient demand for a small-scale facility that would process approximately 1,200 animal units (cattle equivalents) from local farms per year, and over half of the survey respondents said they would more than double their herds with an accessible USDA-inspected facility. This information was gathered in the State of CT, The Maine Sustainable Agricultural Society is currently conducting its own study of Maine livestock farms.

Many respondents to the CISA study projected increases in the number of animals they would bring for slaughter and processing with “better access to a reliable USDA-inspected facility”. Fifty-nine percent of the farmers who responded said they would more than double their herds with additional processing capacity.

MaineStock has a plan is for a small-scale USDA-inspected fixed site slaughter and processing facility. This model builds on the tradition of small slaughterhouses that use to serve many local communities, maintains individual ownership and accountability, and improves food safety and environmental oversight. A network of similar sized facilities could provide a solution for the entire region.

The Maine livestock industry is composed of many small farms. Each one of them is attempting to be productive and sustainable. When we all work together, we can create a united and strong market force. Through aggregation of resources we can achieve this vision.

Every day that we are not moving forward is yet another road block for the expansion of Maine's livestock industry.Here is a recent email MaineStock received recently from a producer; “When do you plan to open? … We need this processing plant. VT does it and does it well, why can't we do the same here in Maine? This type of project has been talked about for years, it is time to get it up and running, time is running out for Maine meat producers to compete in the East coast markets.”

Maine needs an efficient, regional conduit to ensure food security, the health of our citizens and sustainable growth in our livestock industry. The time has come for Maine to take control of its own agricultural destiny and create opportunities that will maintain economic viability in our agricultural sector.