There’s a saying that goes “If you’re not on the table, you’re on the menu,” and that often seems to be the case in the fresh produce industry when it comes to regulations and restrictions.
And it’s also why industry advocacy plays such a critical role as the farm-to-fork divide continues to grow.
In this “Tip of the Iceberg” podcast episode, Marissa Dake, vice president of brand and people for DNO Produce, joins LeAnne Ruzzamenti, the director of marketing and communications with the Equitable Food Initiative, to discuss how those in the produce industry can be trusted sources of information with lawmakers.
Dake, who also serves as chair of the advocacy subcommittee of the International Fresh Produce Association’s Political Advisory Committee, shares how everyone in the fresh produce industry can be an advocate and outlines some small steps to get started.
Dake said DNO Produce’s involvement with advocacy really started when Alex DiNovo, company president, attended United Fresh’s (now the IFPA) Washington Policy Conference.
“It made sense to have relationships with government stakeholders in that industry both on the political side and the regulatory side,” she said. “We realized it became a strategic business move. We got opportunities to positively impact the industry, the community and we made new partnerships. We’ve been positioned as thought leaders in this space it’s enabled us to shape policies directly affecting our business.”
Dake said being a thought-leader has allowed DNO Produce to weigh in on new policies being introduced that shape food and agriculture.
“Our investment in advocacy is also a way of investing in ourselves as a company,” she said.
Dake said DNO Produce also invited U.S. Rep. Mike Carey and representatives from Sen. Sherrod Brown’s office to visit their facilities and understand the needs and concerns of those in the fresh produce industry. But she said there’s still a lot of work to do.
“Legislation like the farm bill spends less than 10% on programs that are specifically for specialty crops or produce,” she said. “When I worked in food and government relations, there’s a huge presence for corn and soy and poultry, and those are huge industries and they have they’ve really got a system down. It’s time for us to step up and really be a collective force.”
Dake said advocacy for produce businesses can mean anything from taking an active role and forming relationships with lawmakers, or donating to PACs that help support the interests of the fresh produce industry.
“There’s a lot that can be done in just leveraging an invite to a facility in all of the states that you cover,” she said. “Now is a great time for folks to get involved because we can really see consumer trends … people are starting to really wake up to the need for a connection between what we eat and our general health and quality of life and it’s time to get lawmakers on board as well.”
