Consumers Want to Know Where Their Food Comes From

An increasing number of American consumers are insisting on knowing where their food comes from and how it was produced. That message was delivered at the 2002 Farm Journal Forum by a panel moderated by W.K. Kellogg Foundation Food Systems Rural Development program director Dr. Oran Hesterman. The panelists, which all represented community-based food systems enterprises utilizing environmentally sound, health promoting and community-sustaining practices, included three Foundation grantees.

The panelists participating on the “Answers to consumers who Insist on Knowing How Food is Produced,” program were Bill Niman, founder, Niman Ranch, Oakland, Calif.; Larry Cleverley, a Mingo, Iowa, organic farmer and member of Practical Farmers of Iowa; Deborah Kane, executive director, The Food Alliance, Portland, Ore.; and Michael Rozyne, managing director of Red Tomato, Canton, Mass. Their presentations sparked questions and discussion from the largely agribusiness/food industry audience.

Craig Cox, executive director of the Soil and Water Conservation Society, a Foundation Food and Society grantee, also spoke at the Forum. He spoke on a panel that focused on the new environmental agenda for crop and livestock producers.

“Your Stake in the Food Chain” was the theme of the 2002 Farm Journal Forum, held Dec. 3-4, 2002, in Washington, D.C. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation supported the Forum.