Underneath the Golden Boy - Robson Hall Faculty of Law

The Organic Agricultural Products Act 167
about this phenomenon, what is termed the ‘corporate capture of organics.’ 33
The Organic Food Council of Manitoba notes that companies such as Wal-Mart,
Kraft, and Pepsi are buying into organics, and that the industry is suffering, as,
“…in order to supply such high output corporations, organic farms are growing,
getting bought out, and assimilating some of the large scale industrial practices of
today’s conventional food system.” 34 Legislation that burdens the small-scale
producer will not uniformly help all Manitoba producers, but contribute to the
corporate capture of organics.
Perhaps the Legislative Assembly did not come to a similar conclusion
because of the focus in their discussions on consumer health. At the second
reading of the OAPA, Mr. Eichler mentioned that “…the various grocery stores,
Wal-Mart and Safeway, Sobeys and many of the others have, in fact, the organic
association itself has done a tremendous job in increasing awareness on eating
healthy and healthy products.” 35 In terms of immediate health benefits, corporate
organics may be better than corporate conventional farming. However, the
ideals behind the organic movement were not solely based on healthy eating but
were part of an active resistance to corporate production:
The organic movement began as a grassroots response to chemical agriculture and the
industrialization of the food system. Social justice, the economic viability of the family
farm, whole, healthful food, and strong relationships between farmers and consumers
were some of the ideals of the organic pioneers. 36
Without a fundamental understanding of the organic industry or its ideals,
without recognizing the current market shift from small-scale to large corporate
producer, and without even mentioning that this legislation is limited to intraprovincial
producers, the Legislative Assembly did not fully evaluate whether
this bill will help Manitoba organic producers.
As only certain producers will be able to market their products more
effectively, the OAPA will only help certain consumers of organic produce—
those who are unconcerned about the origin of their produce. If this legislation
does reduce the number of small organic farms, eliminating falsely labelled
organic goods will have come at the cost of reducing the availability of local
organic produce. Those who are concerned with lessening their food miles (and
thus their impact on the environment) will not have the same consumer choice.
33
Organic Food Council, Manitoba Chapter “Our Stance on Local vs. “Big Organic” (3
September 2007), online: .
34
Ibid.
35
Manitoba, Legislative Assembly, Debates and Proceedings, in Official Reports of Debates
(Hansard),Vol. LIX No. 19 (15 October 2007) at 1331 (Mr. Eichler).
36
Supra note 33.