http://asmarterplanet.com/blog/2008/12/it-used-to-be-that-the-main-factors-influencing-a-consumers-purchasing-decisions-were-those-directly-associated-with-the-p.html Just another weblog Sun, 14 Mar 2010 12:22:16 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 http://asmarterplanet.com/blog/2008/12/it-used-to-be-that-the-main-factors-influencing-a-consumers-purchasing-decisions-were-those-directly-associated-with-the-p.html#comment-407 Guy Blissett Tue, 23 Dec 2008 20:53:42 +0000 http://asmarterplanet.com/blog/2008/12/guest-blog-guy-blissett-smarter-and-safer-food-starts-with-data.html#comment-407 For more information on Canadian Dairy industry: http://www.iedm.org/uploaded/pdf/janv06_en.pdf For more information on Canadian Dairy industry: http://www.iedm.org/uploaded/pdf/janv06_en.pdf

]]> http://asmarterplanet.com/blog/2008/12/it-used-to-be-that-the-main-factors-influencing-a-consumers-purchasing-decisions-were-those-directly-associated-with-the-p.html#comment-408 Guy Blissett Tue, 23 Dec 2008 20:52:47 +0000 http://asmarterplanet.com/blog/2008/12/guest-blog-guy-blissett-smarter-and-safer-food-starts-with-data.html#comment-408 Tim - I agree with many of your points and indeed we are already seeing quite some momentum behind the "locavore" movement. One clear reason for the growth in this trend is that consumers (for many of the reasons you list) increasingly feeel disconnected from the food they purchase and ill informed about the trade-offs in their purchasing decisions. We will likely see a continuation of the locavore movement (the number of farmers markets in the U.S. continues to grow) but as with most things there are limits and the answers aren't clear cut. For example, does it make more sense to buy a local tomato that was grown in a heated greenhouse by an industrial grower or one grown outdoors by a farmer in Africa/S America - thereby contributing to their economic welfare? And for many products local production just isn't an option for many regions, (i.e., bananas, cocoa, coffee, tea, palm oil). Where does Smart fit in all this? Smart allows companies to collect and communicate the information consumers need to more effectivley assess trade-offs. Smart allows companies to most effectively and efficiently route shipments so that distances travelled are indeed shorter, trip times faster and C02 impact is reduced. Smart allows companies and governments to more effectively manage crops, commodities and food products to avoid waste and spoilage, reduce H20 and C02 footprints, and also to allocate food to those who need it. Vis-a-vis the Canadian Dairy industry... one reason it "works" is the artificially high prices Canadian consumers pay in order to subsidize Canadian dairy farmers... local yes, Smart ? Tim – I agree with many of your points and indeed we are already seeing quite some momentum behind the “locavore” movement. One clear reason for the growth in this trend is that consumers (for many of the reasons you list) increasingly feeel disconnected from the food they purchase and ill informed about the trade-offs in their purchasing decisions. We will likely see a continuation of the locavore movement (the number of farmers markets in the U.S. continues to grow) but as with most things there are limits and the answers aren’t clear cut. For example, does it make more sense to buy a local tomato that was grown in a heated greenhouse by an industrial grower or one grown outdoors by a farmer in Africa/S America – thereby contributing to their economic welfare? And for many products local production just isn’t an option for many regions, (i.e., bananas, cocoa, coffee, tea, palm oil).
Where does Smart fit in all this? Smart allows companies to collect and communicate the information consumers need to more effectivley assess trade-offs. Smart allows companies to most effectively and efficiently route shipments so that distances travelled are indeed shorter, trip times faster and C02 impact is reduced. Smart allows companies and governments to more effectively manage crops, commodities and food products to avoid waste and spoilage, reduce H20 and C02 footprints, and also to allocate food to those who need it.
Vis-a-vis the Canadian Dairy industry… one reason it “works” is the artificially high prices Canadian consumers pay in order to subsidize Canadian dairy farmers… local yes, Smart ?

]]> http://asmarterplanet.com/blog/2008/12/it-used-to-be-that-the-main-factors-influencing-a-consumers-purchasing-decisions-were-those-directly-associated-with-the-p.html#comment-409 Tim Wed, 17 Dec 2008 00:30:23 +0000 http://asmarterplanet.com/blog/2008/12/guest-blog-guy-blissett-smarter-and-safer-food-starts-with-data.html#comment-409 The problem to be solved is not how to get food safely and economically across great distances, but how to shorten the distances. Tranporting food on a global scale creates problems that cannot be solved. For example, food that travels well and is as nutritious and delicious as the stuff that comes from your back yard does not exist. We have turned developing countries into mass producers of poor quality foods that need too much fuel to move around instead of incouraging them (and our own producers) to create local food supplies while enriching their economies in other more sustainable ways besides food production. Consider the dairy industry in Canada. It works because it must and it works well. At the same time, we have created and sustained the belief that time spent obtaining and preparing good food is wasted, while we destroy our bodies with over-processed foods and our agricultural heritage with crop monocultures that need more and more chemical fertilizers and pesticides to sustain. "Smart" isn't the only way to enrich our food supply. The problem to be solved is not how to get food safely and economically across great distances, but how to shorten the distances. Tranporting food on a global scale creates problems that cannot be solved. For example, food that travels well and is as nutritious and delicious as the stuff that comes from your back yard does not exist. We have turned developing countries into mass producers of poor quality foods that need too much fuel to move around instead of incouraging them (and our own producers) to create local food supplies while enriching their economies in other more sustainable ways besides food production. Consider the dairy industry in Canada. It works because it must and it works well. At the same time, we have created and sustained the belief that time spent obtaining and preparing good food is wasted, while we destroy our bodies with over-processed foods and our agricultural heritage with crop monocultures that need more and more chemical fertilizers and pesticides to sustain. “Smart” isn’t the only way to enrich our food supply.

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