Third Annual Local vs. Imported Supermarket Produce (2011)
A Need for Commitment to Local Farmers and a Call to End Deceptive Advertising
This third annual report covers the amount of local produce versus imported produce in West Hawaii Today weekly foods ads. It covers from Aug. 2010 through Aug. 2011 [editor’s note: see the 2009 Report and the 2010 Report ]. Stores are visited regularly in order to compare with the actual advertising and gauge the relative amounts of local and imported produce in the store. We also monitor in-store displays and labeling of local produce as well as country-of-origin labeling.
A couple of conclusions became evident during the course of this year’s data accumulation. On the up side is a continuing trend showing increases in local produce promotion. On the down side is a disturbing continuation, if not growth, of deceptive advertising.
In the 2011 reporting period (see graph below), Choice Mart advertised 256 local items (35%) and 466 imports totaling 722 produce items’. KTA advertised 230 local items (31%) versus 516 imported items for a total of 746. Foodland/Sack N Save advertised 207 (20%) local items and 828 imports totaling 1035 items. Safeway advertised a paltry 102 locally grown items (15%) against 578 imports, although this represents a 45% increase from the 71 items in 2009.
Avocados, Bananas, Citrus, Papayas
From 2009 to 2011, Choice Mart advertising rose from 33% local items to 35% although in 2010 they were at 37%. Choice Mart seldom advertises local avocados, which are the only ones they carry. And 90% of the time they carry only local bananas but have to supplement those with occasional Ecuadorian imports. There are times they order local from a wholesaler but are sent the imports, packed inside local banana boxes. During this reporting period, the store called me twice to report this happening. For avocados and bananas Choice Mart sets an excellent example for the other grocery chains.
In their Oct. 20-26, 2010 ad, Choice Mart advertised imported California oranges for 69 cents a lb., almost half of the usual more than $1.00 wholesale price. Local oranges sold at 89¢ per pound.
Foodland’s imported oranges sold for $1.59/lb. during the same Oct. 20 to 26th period. Could California be dumping their oranges in Hawai‘i or is this a move by a wholesaler to reclaim some of the market from Choice Mart, which sells primarily local oranges during the season? Since Choice Mart moved local produce to the first aisle, growers report sales of their oranges has risen to as much as 800 percent. KTA featured and sold imported oranges in January of 2011 when Kona was at the height of citrus harvesting. Naturally this upsets a good many growers when imports are highly touted during the height of the local harvest season.
Other imported citrus, especially tangerines, were pushed by KTA in March of 2011. These Florida tangerines can be considered dangerous to import as they can carry citrus green disease (according to the Congressional Record). The Hawai‘i Dept. of Agriculture is looking at this issue since over 2 million pounds of tangerines were imported into Hawai‘i in 2008 (USDA NASS 2009).
In 2011 Safeway featured more local items in their ads, and shortly after the end of this reporting period even had a week with 100% local items. They also featured local avocados for one week as well as local oranges and the obligatory apple bananas. The advertising week starting Feb. 23rd Safeway offered what I suspect were imported papayas. There were none of the usual “local” markings, neither on the advertisement nor in the store. The USDA statistics service shows that papayas are being imported but they are unable to release specific numbers to avoid disclosure of individual operations. It’s rather disturbing to think of imported papaya (Brazilian), as well as the 20 million pounds of bananas from Ecuador and almost 13 million pounds of oranges. These numbers do represent opportunities for growers in Hawai‘i -- working to reclaim our markets from imports should be a priority.
Deceptive Advertising
Perhaps the most disturbing trend during this reporting period is from Foodland/Sack N Save which constantly pushes its “Local First! Always the Best” slogan, then consistently advertises imported oranges, tangerines, lettuce, avocados, strawberries, cucumbers and mangos during the height of the local season. Also, their in-store advertising is extremely confusing and I fear intentionally misleading to consumers. Using this same slogan featured on all parts of the produce displays one can only tell the point of origin by reading the fine print on a sticker or small sign -- and even then it’s usually incorrect. Having monitored the Kona Sack N Save store and the Waimea Foodland, I can say that they are very deceptive. At the Sack N Save store on their single supposedly all-local produce island, I have seen Idaho potatoes, Australian tangerines and mainland tomatoes. If the state were to levy a fine on stores, let’s say $500 for each time imported produce was marked as local, Foodland/Sack N Save would owe over $2 million, and KTA about $16,000. I’ve never seen this in the Safeway or Choice Mart stores. Foodland/Sack N Save, although saying they buy more local produce than any store in Hawai‘i should realize that store for store they are close to the bottom. Growers who used to shop there got tired of seeing imported avocados, oranges, bananas and other items sold to them by their sometimes partner- client-purveyor Armstrong Produce, the primary importer of most of their produce items. Foodland’s deceptive advertising should end or they should make good on what they claim. If, as they claim, “Local First! Always the Best”, then why don’t they sell only local avocados, oranges, bananas all the time! What’s wrong with Maui and Ewa onions? Waimea or Kula strawberries? Waimea lettuce? Yes, they have them sometimes, but not often, and not in the height of our season when they advertise the imports often at prices that could be construed as dumping. Foodland/Sack N Save needs to do a much better job to support growers in Hawai‘i. They need to really live up to what they say, “Local First! Always the Best”.
As newspapers across the state cannot afford lost advertising revenue, one can only hope the bloggers and food writers take up the cause of educating consumers on deceptive practices and misleading advertising. Another example is based on the discoloration of bananas where the unusual shield shape Dole Ecuador stickers have been removed and these bananas have been sold as local. There is no way to tell if this is done by the store or the wholesaler. There is no way to tell if the Peru and Mexico stickers in the “local” mango section were left on by accident or someone was just too lazy to change the sign. It is wrong and illegal and needs to change.
Country of Origin Labelling
Most grocery stores usually follow the country-of-origin labeling (COOL) law. This includes Longs and other shops that sell produce. The main Hilo farmers market and some other farmers markets around the state do not follow this law. COOL law problems also stem from a lack of understanding in which the letter of the law is followed but not the spirit. For example, green peppers are grown in Hawai‘i, California and imported from Argentine, Mexico and other South and Central American countries. Often grocery stores receive peppers from different locations as part of the same order. Because the peppers are mixed into the same display and since each county has to be on the sign, often you’ll see a sign with the names of 3 or 4 countries. Many of the peppers will have PLU stickers but many don’t, especially our locally grown peppers. COOL started as a way to trace produce that could potentially cause problems, but this multi-country signage really defeats the purpose. We are up against a lot of confusing marketing practices.
This is a perfect example of why branding is so important for Hawaiian growers to embrace. Consumers will seek locally grown if they know it’s locally grown. Therein lies another problem similar to the 51% problem with value added products. A disturbing new trend is that we’ve started to find many produce items grown elsewhere, shipped to local wholesalers who then repackage beans, peapods, garlic and other items. Beans from the distributor Honaunau Market don't show where they were grown, perhaps a violation of COOL although this information is not supplied to the grocer. This is true with a number of items found at Costco too. Hawaiian themed packaging with hula dancers and tiki gods does not indicate Hawaiian grown. The state needs to be much more proactive in protecting our industries.
Food Safety Fears and Big Ag Money
Much recent discussion revolves around the difference between food safety and food security. Some would equate these two issues which, to most people, have crucial differences.
Fear mongering about food safety and the attempt to have all farms pay a small fortune to have food safety certification will eventually backfire on those pushing this agenda. Small farms simply cannot afford it. There are no safety issues with small farms in Hawai‘i and no data to back up the claims of imminent danger by those who push their personal agendas. These agendas, I fear, are based on economics: think of what they could stand to lose if everyone bought only local. Those pushing them are the produce importers and wholesalers along with those farmers whose yearly income well exceeds $1 million. The few voices that speak for the vast majority of small farmers are often drowned out by high priced advertising, and sometimes by large donations to the “pushers” cause. Some of the money that finds its way into the coffers of our legislators is directly related to big Ag and this creates a detrimental depressive effect on small family farms struggling with sustainability.
It can be an eye-opening experience to search (http://la2.sdrdc.com/cgi-bin/hi2000/contrib-html/) and see which of our politicians accept funding from different companies. Tracing money flowing into Hawai‘i from Monsanto is fairly easy on a variety of websites and shows our Hawai‘i congressional delegation accepting $15,000.00 in the last 2 years. This does exclude Senator Akaka who did not accept funds from Monsanto. How these food issues along with the GMO issue affect small farm sustainability remains to be seen but potentially it is extremely dangerous. Fallout has already been felt in the organic sector and in some farmers markets that will soon be forced to require this faux safety certification. Our growers are already hurting. We as consumers have to focus on buying only local and speaking with our wallets. It’s the only language some understand.
Ken Love is President of the Hawai’i Tropical Fruit Growers Association (HTFG). He has been a long-time advocate and entrepreneur for local fruit production and consumption. His abundant publications can be found at www,Hawaiifruit.net. For information about HTFG, see http://www.hawaiitropicalfruitgrowers.org/ .