Great story this week in the Globe and Mail about how Canada’s supply management of eggs is being challenged by foodies. About time.
The government line is that supply management whereby farmers have egg quotas is fair, it matches what farmers produce with what consumers need and want. Big Brother Farming in other words. The system benefits large streamlined operations.
But increasingly, foodies want fresh eggs, organic eggs, free range eggs commonly available from small farms and they’re finding them in farmers’ markets. That’s illegal. “A farmer can keep up to 99 laying hens without quota, which is worth thousands of dollars, and they can sell their eggs from the farm gate without grading them, a government process that evaluates quality. But they are forbidden from selling them. ”
“This has created a grey market for eggs. If you know the password, you can buy a verboten dozen at an Ontario health food store. Often those popular eggs at the farmers’ markets are kept out of sight – for a reason. One farmer says it’s like Prohibition with people just ignoring regulations.
But the governmenet is invested in the system. Now the egg police are after the little guys. “In 2008, a farmer was fined $3,000 (Canadian) for selling eggs to Ottawa-area restaurants. And in a notorious case in Eastern Ontario in 2006, the egg marketing board, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and police officers raided one farm and pressed charges including unlawful possession of laying hens because the farmer allegedly owned more than the permitted 99.”
Doesn’t this sound awfully familiar. Canadian dairy is similarly regulated by the government which favours farmers over consumers. As I pointed out in my book Last Chance to Eat, Canadian dairy is woefully anemic because of the supply management practice. Butterfat which is what makes dairy tasty is kept to the minimum so the farmers can make more profit. Canadian butter has 80% butterfat, the minimum amount required to call the product butter. Proper rich cream is impossible to find. I called several Ontario dairy farmers and asked if they could make 45% cream for consumers and got the reply — only if a majority of people wanted it. In other words, niche marketing is out. An Ottawa civil servant informed me that Canadians prefer low fat dairy, it’s healthier. Ironically she was French Canadian and she acknowledged she loved French croissants but only in France.
Locavores have gone on and on about eating local food — but they are silent about eggs and dairy. Does this mean they don’t care about taste but support any enterprise if it’s local?
