The “beast” wasn’t far away and turned out to be Hellmann’s – as in the mayonnaise people. Hellmann’s recently launched the “Eat Real Eat Local” campaign. The campaign, which was launched through numerous press releases and TV spots, “educated” consumers about the fact that Hellmann’s mayonnaise is made with Canadian eggs and Canadian canola oil. Sure, it’s great that they use Canadian products and all but aren’t they stretching the use of the word “local”? Canada is pretty big so what is local for someone in Halifax and someone in Vancouver are too very different things. Something tells me that Hellmann’s doesn’t produce special local mayonnaise on a per-province basis.
…It feels like just a matter of time before we’re told that High Fructose Corn Syrup is local and good for us because it’s made with local corn.…
The fact that a long-standing brand like Hellmann’s is realizing the importance means something. “I think it’s a double-edged sword,” says DeCampo. “On one point you have to say ‘it’s good, these very smart people who are paid a lot of money recognize that there’s a value in flying in under the local banner.’ But we also have to be critical about it.” While the Hellmann’s site does provide some interesting information on how to eat local, it’s hard not to feel like Hellmann’s is taking consumers for a ride by stretching the definition of local especially when the parent company is Unilever.
The idea of eating local isn’t going away anytime soon and nor should it. Everyone, especially city dwellers in all income brackets, should have easier access to fresher, better tasting produce. But it’s when companies start to redefine the term “local” to suit their own agendas that things start to go awry. It feels like just a matter of time before we’re told that High Fructose Corn Syrup is local and good for us because it’s made with local corn.
Do you really want to get on the local bandwagon?
1. Grow your own food
2. Buy from local farmers (NOT from fake farmers that buy produce from the f ood terminal)
3. Shop at markets where the owners really know their suppliers and the origins of their produce
4. Define what “local” means to you and commit to finding products that fit that definition (but also leave room for exceptions. Hello, coffee!?!?)
3 Comments
If this article is an example of what is to come as this site grows, I look forward to reading the future posts!
You make an excellent point – the general concept of buying local has many benefits, whether it’s better tasting food, or supporting the local economy, or saving money on a better product. However, once this turns into an industry and marketing tool, it defeats itself, as people will become immune to the allure of local once they realize that the term local is being abused and no longer means what it once did.
This was an excellent article and it started a great discussion about “buying local” between myself and the chef at Buster Rhino’s. I have started to see even more products that aren’t local but are being labelled as such. Buying local is one thing, buying Canadian is something different.
Great article! I like the concepts of the local and slow food movements but to me they’re completely different from the organic/gmo-free movement.
The former seem to refer to the act and enjoyment of eating, with local also having economic benefits but organic as well as gmo-free are more about the human health benefits/risks ie. ingesting chemical pesticides as well as the health/environmental benefits and risks that the land is exposed to.
Ideally organic and gmo-free would be the “understood” standards of the local and slow movements and ideally the mainstream would educate themselves and become aware of the profit-only motive of the big food corporations.