Is Agriculture a Public Good?

Soft fruit growers in Ontario are currently caught between two competing visions of the role of government in protecting the public interest. CanGro Foods (part of Kraft Foods Canada until 2006) recently announced that they were closing their fruit and vegetable processing plants near Niagara-on-the-Lake (St. David’s) and London (Exeter). This closure will put nearly 300 people out of work. It will also leave 150 pear and peach growers without a buyer for their products. The pear harvest of 3,000 tons is worth $1.8 million while 6,000 tons of clingstone peaches are worth $2.5 million. One more plant closure might not seem remarkable except that the St. David’s plant is over 100 years old and is the last tender fruit cannery east of the Rocky Mountains.

The federal government has refused to stop the closure but has offered about $1600 per acre to help with the costs of removing the fruit trees. According to at least one study, the cost of removing trees and replanting for a different crop is closer to $15,000 per acre. It only takes three months to close a processing plant but it takes 10 years to rip out mature pear trees, replant and bring the fruit to a marketable stage. How long does it take to secure the future of domestic agriculture in Canada?

Underneath the question of whether the government should be directly involved in ensuring the viability of domestic agriculture in Canada lies a conflict of visions over the meaning of the public interest. On the right side of the debate is a vision of the public interest as the accumulation of intersecting private activities. They have no meaning as such but they do generate conflict and the role of government is to set the rules of conduct so disputes can be resolved. When modern American style conservatives call for small government, this is what they have in mind. The federal government response to the CanGro closure reflects this vision.

On the left side of the debate is a vision of the public interest as a version of the common good. Some activities contribute to the common good and some do not. Protecting the most vulnerable members of our society would contribute to the common good even though they do not represent a numerical majority. From this perspective the role of the government is to actively contribute to, promote and defend those aspects of our common life that help to define who we are and who we want to be.

Donald Ziraldo is the former President and co-founder of Inniskillin Wines. He thinks another buyer for the cannery could be found if a market for its production could be secured. Since CanGro will be keeping their Del Monte, Aylmer and Ideal brands, even if they’re now filled with pear halves from China, he wants the government to help create a new “Niagara” brand. He then wants the Ontario Government to adopt a “buy local” policy for all its institutions. The Government of Ontario employs 65,000 people and is the second largest employer in the Province after the Federal Government. If the Government adopted a “buy local” policy just for the food services catering to employees, and if every employee spent just $5 a day on lunches and snacks, $6.5 million a month would be directed towards local agriculture.

This is a bold and imaginative vision but it treats domestic agriculture as a matter of the public interest, and the government as its defender. Where we stand on the vision has a direct and practical impact on the future of domestic agriculture in Canada.