ROGUE FOOD CONFERENCE

           As food prices and availability take center stage in our media and discussions, the answer is not subsidies, regulations, or governmental intervention.  The answer is good old freedom to stimulate opportunity and competition.  Let the best players win.

            Not the biggest players.  Not the players who can wrangle special concessions to stay open when others must close (re. covid when WalMart was “essential” and stayed open, but farmers’ markets were “non-essential” and ordered to close—that was the moment I knew the whole covid story was a crock). 

            Nothing insures adequate product at fair prices like unbridled competition.  With football season back, perhaps it’s good to remind ourselves that unfettered meritocracy truly does bring out the best in people.  Could this work for food?  Yes.

            Fortunately, to play football, you don’t need a stadium.  You can get together with some buddies in a back yard and play.  Do people get hurt doing this?  Yes.  Do they need referees?  No.  Do they make up their own rules?  Yes—that bush is the goal line and the kiddie swing is out of bounds.  But is this the way big leagues start?  Also yes.

            The way to feed professional players and fill stadiums is to preserve the freedom to pick up with buddies and play backyard ball.  Absent that, the NFL would cease to exist.  The backyard is where kids and parents hone their skill and love of the sport.

            So with food, mastery, sales, and business principles must be tried in backyards first, among friends and neighbors.  But if the government says “nobody can play unless you have a stadium and contract,” the whole system loses its feeder threads.  Society loses interest.  That’s where we are with food.  Society has lost interest in food because you can only play if you have a stadium and contract, also known as government food safety compliance.

            That is why it’s time to circumvent, to start our own leagues and make sure we don’t lose our backyard options.  That’s why we need the Rogue Food Conferences, and another one is coming up Dec. 10 just south of Nashville, Tennessee.  We’ll be showcasing farmers and food systems that aren’t playing in stadiums; they’re playing in backyards and winning games.

            Won’t you join us?  Here’s the link: Rogue Food Conference