INDEPENDENT FOOD RETAILING: EXPLORING THE INTERFACE BETWEEN CONVENTIONAL AND ALTERNATIVE 'LOCAL' FOOD SYSTEMS A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of Graduate Studies of The University of Guelph by EMILY LOUISE SHAPIRO In partial fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of the Arts August, 2008 © Emily Shapiro, 2008 Library and Bibliotheque et 1*1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-42835-1 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-42835-1 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par Plntemet, prefer, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. 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Canada ABSTRACT INDEPENDENT FOOD RETAILING: EXPLORING THE INTERFACE BETWEEN CONVENTIONAL AND ALTERNATIVE 'LOCAL' FOOD SYSTEM Emily Shapiro Advisor: University of Guelph, 2008 Professor John Smithers This thesis reports on an assessment of the current and prospective role of the independent grocery and food retail sector in (rural) Southwestern Ontario in hosting and promoting trade in local food. Data from face-to-face interviews provide insight into current practices, perceptions, and challenges of both food retailers and consumers, with emphasis on the former. In particular the research explores the (malleable) meanings of 'local' as it applies to local food, assesses the processes by which local foods are sourced and verified, and explores the barriers to and opportunities for trading in local food at the retail level. It emerges that corporate regulations, a lack of intermediary infrastructure, local food availability, and inconsistent marketing limit the opportunities for retail food storeowners to source and sell local foods. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To my parents, Rebecca and Jamie, for taking me to the market on Saturday mornings; thank you for fostering in me a passion for fresh food and rural landscapes and for providing me the resources to be successful in all of my endeavours. To the rest of my family for their continued interest in my work and for the newspaper clippings included in my birthday cards. To my friends and colleagues in the Department of Geography, especially Nicole, Lisa, Mark, Carla, and Tom; thank you for your endless support and encouragement, for your little notes and big hugs. To my friends and community at The Cornerstone and in downtown Guelph; thank you for providing distractions from my work: by day and by night. You are all Geographists to me. To my advisor: John Smithers, for allowing me the opportunity for independent study and to my committee member: Rob de Loe for taking a genuine interest in my research. To my research assistant, Graham Halsal; thank you for your company during our field season and your propensity for attracting willing survey participants. Finally, I would like to thank the retailers and customers who participated in my research for their willingness to share with me their time and their thoughts. 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements i Table of Contents. ii List of Tables v List of Figures vi Chapter One Introduction 1 1.1 Research Problem 1 1.2 Aims and Objectives 6 1.3 Thesis Outline 6 Chapter Two Context and Literature Review 8 2.1 The Modern North American Agricultural Sector 9 2.2 Global Food Systems 10 2.3 Agricultural Food Supply Chains in the Conventional Food System 13 2.4 The "Alternative" Agricultural Model 15 2.5 Structure of the Conventional Food Retailing Sector 19 2.6 Alternative Food Distribution: Local and Shortened Food Supply Chains ....23 2.7 Changes in Canadian Food Consumption Patterns 27 2.8 Summary 29 Chapter Three Approach and Methodology 32 3.1 Data Types and Collection Methods '. 32 3.2 Sampling Strategy 34 3.2.1 Conventional Independent Supermarket - Banner Store 36 3.2.2 Conventional Independent Supermarket - True Independent Stores 42 3.2.3 Farm Shops 47 3.3 Interview Protocols and Questionnaire Design 51 3.3.1 An Institutional Context 51 3.3.2 Retailer Perspectives 52 3.3.3 Consumer Perspectives 54 3.3.4 Observation 55 3.4 Analytic Approach ....55 Chapter Four Local Food and the Rural Independent Food Retailer 57 4.1 Local Food Inventory 57 ii 4.1.1 Fruit and Vegetables 57 4.1.2 Value-added Goods 60 4.1.3 Meat, Eggs, and Dairy 60 4.2 Institutional Perspectives on Independent Food Retailing 62 4.3 Retailer Motivations for Sourcing and Selling Local Food 64 4.3.1 Philosophical Motivations 64 4.3.2 Accountability 66 4.3.3 Economic Motivations 68 4.4 Operationalizing 'Local' from the Retail Perspective 70 4.4.1 Physical Parameters 71 4.4.2 Domestic Place of Origin: Geographic Indication and Place Branding... 75 4.4.3 Other Attributes of'Local'Food : 76 4.5 Authenticating Local Food Quality and Qualities 78 4.5.1 Regulated Quality Assurance 78 4.5.2 Unregulated Quality Assurance 80 4.6 Procurement Methods: Sources and Strategies 83 4.6.1 Sourcing and Selling the Stores' "Own" Food Products 84 4.6.2 Direct Sourcing 86 4.6.3 Growers' Co-operatives 93 4.6.4 The Ontario Food Terminal 95 4.6.5 Distributors 96 4.6.6 Central Warehouses 97 4.7 Advertising and Promoting Local Food at the Retail Level 98 4.7.1 On-Site Signage 99 4.7.2 Place Identification and 'Name' Branding 101 4.7.3 Out-of-Store Media 104 4.8 Barriers and Limitations to Sourcing and Selling Local Food 105 4.8.1 Sourcing Local Food 106 4.8.1.1 Limiting Factors 106 4.8.1.2 Other Considerations 112 4.8.2 Selling Local Food 113 4.9 Chapter Summary '. 119 Chapter Five Local Food and the Rural Consumer 121 iii 5.1 Shopper Characteristics 121 5.1.1 Age..... 122 5.1.2 Travel Distance to Store Site ...A22 5.1.3 Previous Engagement with Agriculture and Food Production 124 5.2 Operationalizing 'Local' from the Consumer Perspective 125 5.2.1 Physical Parameters 127 5.2.2 Vague Concepts of Place 129 5.2.3 Non-Spatial Concepts of Local' 129 5.3 Assessment of Local Food Purchasing - Consumer Behaviour 130 5.3.1 Types of Local Foods Purchased 130 5.3.2 Frequency of Local Food Purchases 132 5.3.3 Main Outlets for Local Food Purchases 132 5.4 Motivations for Purchasing Local Food - Consumer Beliefs 136 5.5 Limitations to and Accessibility of Purchasing Local Foods 139 5.5.1 Specific Limitations for Purchasing Local Food at the Grocery Store ..140 5.5.2 Further Consideration for Food Accessibility 142 5.6 Summary 147 Chapter Six Summary and Contributions 150 6.1 Reflections on Results 150 6.2 Scholarly Contributions 151 6.2.1 Store Type Categories 152 6.2.2 Local Food Retailing ..156 6.2.3 The Conventional-Alternative Interface 158 6.2.4 The Local Food Consumer 162 6.3 Applied Contributions 165 6.4 Further Research 167 References Cited 169 Appendix 1 - Key Informant Interviews 179 Appendix 2 - Consumer Profile Questionnaire 181 IV LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1 "Defining" Local Food .....18 Table 2.2 Typology of conventional food retailing establishments 23 Table 2.3 Core forms of alternative food initiatives 25 Table 4.1 Local Food Inventory - Fruit.. 58 Table 4.2 Local Food Inventory - Vegetables 59 Table 4.3 Local Food Inventory - Value-added Goods 60 Talbe 4.4 Local Food Inventory - Meat, Eggs, and Dairy 61 Table 4.5 Procurement strategies by store type 84 Table 4.6 "Own" Products grown and sold by store category 85 Table 4.7 Influence of Anabaptist Populations 91 Table 5.1 Age Distribution of Survey Participants 122 Table 5.2 Distance from Place of Residence to Store Site 123 Table 5.3 Respondents with Ties to Farming or Food Production 125 Table 5.4 Total Customer Perceptions of 'Local' 126 Table 5.5 First Response for Customer Perceptions of'Local' 126 Table 5.6 Linear Distance as a Measure for Food Localness 128 Table 5.7 Perceptions of Local Food Origins 132 Table 5.8 Local Food Outlets Frequented by Survey Respondents 134 Table 5.9 First Choice for Local Food Outlets Frequented by Survey Respondents 134 Table 5.10 Motivations for Purchasing Locally Produced Foods 137 Table 5.11 Primary Motivations for Purchasing Local Food 137 Table 5.12 Willingness to Pay More for Local Food