What farmers in the Middle East can learn from hormones in chicken.

Almost all local fruit & vegetable farmers across the Middle East face the same challenge. Conventional farms, hydroponic, aeroponic, or aquaponic farms alike. When it comes to selling our produce, we are confronted with a harsh reality: local produce is bought and sold at much lower prices than imported western produce. A premium supermarket chain in the UAE for example sells vine tomatoes from the Netherlands for $9.54/kg, while locally grown vine tomatoes fetch a measly $3.54 (farmers will receive less than 50% of this revenue).?

Historically, the reason for this price difference has been the dependence on food imports and the lack of competitors in the market, but with thousands of farms launching in recent years, this argument is no longer valid. Skeptics may argue that this has to do with taste, and others may claim that western growing practices are healthier and more sustainable. While taste is subjective, the argument about growing practices does not hold up in most countries in the region, especially the UAE, which has very strict food safety protocols in place.?

When comparing imports to local produce, local produce scores important points in two factors, health, and sustainability:

1. Health: Crops lose nutrients after harvest and during transport. Studies show that vegetables and especially leafy greens can lose over 50% of the nutrients within days of being harvested. Spinach can lose 90% within the first 24 hours after harvest.?
2. Sustainability: Tomatoes from the Netherlands travel over 5,100km to reach the UAE, causing unnecessary carbon emissions, as well as food wastage from crops damaged during transport. Imagine the carbon footprint from Mexican avocados or Australian beef.?

This brings us to hormones in chicken. Every carton of eggs and every pack of chicken filets will be sure to state that the product is "hormone-free". That’s great right? Except that hormones aren’t used in growing chickens, and the whole tale is a story of a marketing campaign that backfired and forced every chicken producer to add "hormone-free" to their packaging. Administering hormones to chickens only changes their fat deposition without achieving an increase in weight. This is something that no chicken grower wants.

What can we learn from this? A misleading statement forced an entire industry to print a redundant statement on their packaging, which consumers around the world now look for. Why should it be more difficult for local farmers to create that kind of promise??

A “No Air-Freight” disclaimer would be a great way to show that this product contains more nutrients and causes less damage to the environment. While we still need to do more to educate consumers about the quality of locally grown produce, this is a clear-cut promise that consumers are accessing produce that is better for them and for our future.