April 21st and 22nd saw McCormick Place swarmed by environmentally conscious consumers at the first ever Chicago Green Festival. Timed to coincide with annual Earth Day celebrations, “Green Fest” brought together over 300 exhibitors and 150 speakers on sustainability, the environment and social justice. Goodness Greeness joined Green Fest as a partner and exhibitor to continue reaching out to consumers about the availability and benefits of organic produce. Besides being a partner, Goodness Greeness was also the preferred organic supplier to the restaurants and caterers that served the hungry masses in attendance. Organizers of Green Fest had expected 20,000 attendees over the two day event and were ecstatic over the turnout. Rumors circulated on the show floor that online ticket sales had well surpassed those of previous event in San Francisco. Measured by the amount of traffic through the Goodness Greeness exhibit, attendance certainly surpassed all expectations. Saturday seemed the stronger of the two days attendance-wise, with a steady line of attendees waiting for sample sized salads prepared at our exhibit. Made with organic ingredients and natural dressings, the salads were a hit with consumers and were just one of the benefits of stopping by our booth.
Said vice president and owner Rick Scaman, “even with the growing awareness about the benefits of eating organic, many consumers are still unsure about what the labeling means or which of their grocers sells organic produce. As an expert in industry, I think we play an important educational role, which we take very seriously.”
A new issue for consumers is that of local versus organic. Concerns about the environment and global warming are causing some to consider locally grown produce superior to organic. However the issue is not that clear cut. Yes, some organic produce travels a long way to get to our plates; but the reality is that without a network of farmers, both in the US and abroad, we would be left with little or no fresh, organically produced fruits and vegetables for the majority of the year in the Midwest. In addition, those “food miles” are spread over a lot of tonnage. “Trucks hauling within the region and cross-country are usually filled to capacity”, said Goodness Greeness buyer Ben Perkins. “That’s 40,000 to 45,000 lbs of produce moving as one unit to our warehouse”. By comparison, the infrastructure and the production capacity to put together similarly sized local shipments, at least in the Midwest, just don’t exist.
Goodness Greeness’s general manager sums it up this way; “what happens is you have a bunch of small trucks running all over with locally grown produce during the growing season. For that small percent of consumer demand that can be met locally, the actual food miles are most likely higher. While it’s important to grow as much food as we can closer to the places it’s consumed, it’s also important to realize it doesn’t come without an environmental cost. I don’t believe this should be an either-or decision for consumers. Locally grown, sustainably raised and organic are not mutually exclusive. By promoting all three we will end up using more of our farmland globally to grow food for people and be much better stewards of our resources. At the end of the day, organic production anywhere benefits consumers and the environment everywhere.”
So for Goodness Greeness, the event was an important opportunity to continue the dialogue about sustainable practices and explain why the production and merchandising of certified organic produce is such a needed part of the “healthy food” system. We can hardly wait to see you at Chicago’s Green Festival 2008.
Warren King
Peas and beans are as pivotal to organic farming as they are to treasured folklore. Nitrogen, essential to all living cells, is especially important in chlorophyll which allows plants to photosynthesize energy from the sun to grow and thrive. On conventional farms, chemical nitrogen fertilizer is applied to the soil, derived from the Harber-Bosch method of synthesizing ammonia from gaseous nitrogen and hydrogen. Millions of tons of this chemical fertilizer are dumped on fields in the US every year; unfortunately much of this contaminates our groundwater. Organic farms do not use chemical fertilizer. So how do organic crops obtain the nitrogen they need? The answer is magic beans—and peas. 
