COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • JANUARY 2020


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Consumers, producers need mutual understanding Developing common ground creates opportunities for mutual support, sales


by PETER MITHAM


VANCOUVER – Social concerns are increasingly driving purchasing decisions at restaurants and among consumers, and sourcing local ingredients is a top priority for many buyers. But local growers can’t


always meet all the other expectations buyers have, meaning understanding and compromises are needed when it comes to working together to put local food on local plates. “Traditionally and historically, we saw branding as showing quality and the trust in the name of a product,” said Kevin Boon, general manager of the BC Cattlemen’s Association in a 10-minute talk aimed at chefs attending the province’s “Every Chef Needs a Farmer, Every Farmer Needs a Chef” networking event in Vancouver, November 12. “People have more


information now and they’re making higher demands,” he said. “Many of the brands now are built on the attributes of how we raise it and feed it and build that animal – and that takes two years to do.” While livestock producers can meet the demand for meats raised without antibiotics (RWA) or according to particular animal welfare standards, Boon said ranchers can’t be asked to measure up once the steak hits the plate. “In order for us to put that on the plate for that consumer, we have to know that two years in advance before it starts getting marketed,” he said. “Otherwise


BC Cattlemen’s general manager Kevin Boon says it’s important to help chefs understand the practical challenges farmers and ranchers face producing food for ever more demanding consumers. PETER MITHAM PHOTO


we run into things like things we’ve seen happen in the past where they say, ‘The industry in Canada was not able to supply us with that product; we had to go elsewhere.’”


This was the case when


Vancouver-based Earls Restaurants Ltd. announced a shift to Certified Humane beef


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