The Myth of “Supporting Local”
“Support Local” is a phrase thrown around a lot.. It’s the idea that there is an obligation to support small businesses that are supposedly more ethical than large corporate operations. Voting with your wallet provides you with a sense of control in a world that is seemingly out of control. The problem is, this is only a temporary feeling and it usually leaves the consumer out of pocket, for products that are incredibly inconvenient to buy. In exchange for your patronage, small business owners put the burden of their success on the community’s moral compass.
Chris Newman is an Indigenous Black Farmer who operates Sylvanaqua Farms in the States and he discusses at length the racism and classism within the world of small-scale “ethical” farming. His goal for his farm and community is to provide accessible, quality meat and eggs. The idea is to operate in a well organized format that allows his product to be affordable and reachable by the broader community, not just to those who have the time and money to access it. My understanding of his work is that this requires highly efficient practices, a solid team of workers who are well paid and community collaboration. His work stood out to me as I thought about businesses like small breweries struggling to pay their staff well and purchasing the same ingredients as large commercial breweries. Why was I spending twice the amount on beer when I could pay less to a company providing people with better pay, benefits and the purchasing power to support farms using ethical growing practices? I believe this is part of Newman’s point. If your business is costing you, your staff and the customer more time, money, and underpaid labour, is it really all that ethical?
For my entire life I have worked in small businesses, farms, restaurants, bakeries and more. Some I ran and some I worked at. Most of them failing. Most of them relying on the moral obligation of their community to buy from them rather than provide quality products that were consistent and accessible. I shouted from the top of my lungs every day, “buy local ethical products, pay the real price of food.” I began to feel defeated, and believed that no one wanted this world to be a better place. As Covid took its toll on the world I continued to study and work in the small business world. The “vote with your wallet” ideology was falling apart in my mind even faster than ever before. All the small businesses I worked for had some of the following issues: bad management, unreliable pay, inconsistent product, inconsistent hours, high prices to cover bad management under the guise of “the true cost of food,” burnt out owners, inconsistent advertising and/or bad advertising, no HR, no team building and bad communication.
Taking a step back from it all I began to realize that there is a very privileged self-centered conversation happening in the “ethical food community”. The failure to build a food system of value in Canada is more on the food providers than we care to admit. It has taken me years to unlearn things that I so deeply thought and wanted to be true. Basing the success of your business on the obligation of your community to “vote with their wallet” does not work. You have to be providing something that people want to participate in if you want long term support for your business.
We live in a capitalist world with a capitalist economy and we can not expect people’s good will to save us from that. You can not be berating large companies for not paying its employees adequately while selling greens for twice the price that were harvested by an unpaid intern and truly believe you have the moral high ground. We are stuck in this never ending loop of shame and good will that only includes those privileged or naïve enough to be in this depressing club. This realization is deeply liberating and seeing people stepping outside of this loop, working towards tangible change in our food system, has allowed me to stop feeling angry and want to work with people instead of against them.
