The Rural Voice, 1989-10, Page 24AT
DO CONSUME
WANT?
What do consumers want when
it comes to food?
The answer won't surprise anyone:
low prices and a safe and healthy
supply.
"The high cost of food is never out
of the headlines, every year. No mat-
ter whether it's going up or down, the
high cost of food is in the headlines,"
remarks Ruth Jackson, wryly. "It got
to be rather funny."
Jackson, along with Bemice
McLean of Burlington, is the co-chair
of the Ontario Food Committee of the
Consumers Association of Canada
(CAC). She lives in a suburb of
Kitchener, and as a volunteer has
committed her time to the Consumers
Association for more than 30 years.
So she speaks with authority about
the consumer's abiding desire for low
food prices. And she's also in a good
position to note the increasing concern
for food safety. In fact, she says, that
concern has been rather exaggerated
lately, almost a "preoccupation."
"The general public seems to be
less sure of the food supply than ever
before," Jackson says. "Yet to those
of us working in it it is probably safer
than it's ever been before."
To illustrate the confusion,
Jackson points to a study that shows
public perception about food safety to
be the inverse of actual scientific risk
(see Chart I). While scientists rated
"microbiological hazards" in food as
the most important risk, the average
consumer put such hazards at the
bottom of the list. And while food
additives were of the least concern to
scientists, consumers put additives at
the top of their list.
The case of Alar on apples is an
example of how quickly fears about
food safety ignite these days. May -
The Rural Voice asked the
Consumers Association of
Canada what consumers expect
from food producers .
Ruth Jackson, co-chair of the CAC Food
Committee: "The general public seems
to be less sure of the food supply than
ever before. Yet to those of us working in
it it is probably safer than it's ever been."
be Alar should have been banned,
Jackson says, maybe not, but the ban
was placed hastily and without any
evidence that it was necessary.
Jackson says she is concerned
about extremists generally, from
animal rightists to those raising alarms
about food safety. For example, she
says, the CAC applauds the codes of
practice committees set up in response
to the animal rights movement, and
"deplores" the connotation of the
advertising that is being used to
market "natural" beef.
Jackson says she suspects that
there isn't sufficient organically
produced feed around to feed the
animals coming to market as "natural"
meat. Somebody is probably cheating,
she says. Consumers, she adds, must
rely on the expertise and honesty of
producers, and if she were asked by a
consumer whether he or she should
buy organic beef, her answer would
be: "Probably no."
"We have for years held a more
conservative view of those things than
many," she comments.
(See Chart III for an assessment of
"environmental awareness" on the part
of consumers.)
But, she says, "Even the extrem-
ists are partially right. I think it's
good that we're realizing that we've
got to take a little more care of our
resources."
"Sustainable agriculture is a
worthwhile goal," Jackson says. She
defines "sustainable agriculture" as
"an agriculture that could be carried
on indefinitely in the same location."
And the standards for "certified
organic" food are "reasonable," she
says. The organic industry is a legit-
imate sideline to mainstream agricul-
ture, she adds, noting that the Ontario
22 THE RURAL VOICE