It's Summer in Chile

I saw an ad on TV the other day about the wonders of produce from Chile, where it's summer now. The ad was placed by the Chilean Fresh Fruit Industry, a group like those trade organizations who put up billboards touting the wonders of avocadoes.

The ad struck me as a reaction by large growers against the burgeoning movement of shoppers demanding locally grown food.The QFC logo appeared at the end of the commercial, so I stopped by one of their stores to see what I could learn about Chilean produce. Strangely, none of their signs boasted of produce grown in Chile, although the small print on some of the package labels identified Chile as the country of origin.

Fascinated by the discrepancy between the boasting tone of the ad and the lack of information at the store, I visited another supermarket, Shoreline's Central Market. A number of the produce signs there, like the one in the above picture, mentioned Chile as the source.

According to the Chilean Fresh Fruit's website, the country's geography creates a "photosanitary region", or an area isolated enough to be free of pests that are common in neighboring regions. This lessens the need for pesticides (although it seems that there are all kinds of pesticides that are banned in the US but still used in Chile.)

Aside from the issues of food miles and pesticide sprays, agriculture geared towards mass production for the purpose of export endangers longstanding traditions in communities of indigenous, subsistence farmers all over the world. Chilean agriculture is no exception.

I'll take locally grown grapes, even if I have to wait for summer.