WHAT IT MEANS TO BE ...
Scant oversight, no enforcement of state’s local-food promotion
“Arizona Grown” is a signal to shoppers they are buying food that comes from local farms. ❚ The orange logo is supposed “to make it easy for shoppers to spot Arizona products” and ensure the items they are reaching for on store shelves were made in the state. ❚ The operative word is “made.” Products made in Arizona don’t necessarily have to use ingredients grown in Arizona to qualify for the brand.
“Unfortunately, we do not have the people, we do not have the staff, to go out there and enforce who is using what.” Deborah Atkinson Arizona Department of Agriculture
It is a quirk shared by food-branding programs, in states across the country, that operate primarily as marketing tools.
A USA TODAY NETWORK investigation found that state branding programs designed to help inform consumers and support local farmers are deceptive and virtually unregulated. A team of reporters reviewed food-branding programs in every state and found a hodgepodge of rules and regulations.
More than half the states put “local” labels on products even if 50 percent of the ingredients come from outside the state. Eighteen states have no minimum ingredient requirement at all.
“Most people think, when you say, ‘Arizona Grown,’ they automatically think of produce, agriculture ... the trend is most people want to buy locally,” said Deborah Atkinson, state budget control development specialist. “What we’re trying to do at the Department of Agriculture is just keep the logo out there.”
With virtually no staff and an $8,000 annual budget, the Arizona Grown program exists primarily as a registration center for 156 companies that have signed a licensing agreement to display the logo on products and in stores.
The budget is just enough to buy and resell merchandise, such as coffee mugs, branded with the Arizona Grown logo, Atkinson said.
The list of Arizona Grown “agreement holders” includes date and egg farms, nurseries, cattle ranches, vineyards and markets. Roses, pecans, honey, barbecue, burgers and lemonade are among specific products on the list.
Safeway, Target and Walmart have agreements with Arizona Grown. They typically display the state logo on produce that comes in seasonally from Arizona farms. Same for farmer’s markets, which will place signs with the logo above crates of specific crops.
More than a decade ago, Arizona made a push to expand its program, Atkinson said. There was even interest in establishing a grower’s-exchange partnership with China. But state budget shortfalls left Arizona Grown facing an economic scythe. It was one of the first programs to go, she said.
“Maybe someday, when everything is right with the world, we will end up with a bona fide marketing department,” she said. “But I’m not sure that is going to happen in my lifetime.”
Like most states, Arizona has no way to oversee members and no way to take action if program rules are violated. There are no inspections. There are no audits. “Unfortunately, we do not have the people, we do not have the staff, to go out there and enforce who is using what,” Atkinson said.
There are few rules to enforce. Program requirements are so loose that this newspaper would qualify to carry the state logo if it applied for membership, which it has not.
Because the paper is produced in Arizona, it is eligible to enroll in a program that was designed to market fresh food alongside produce companies, grocery stores and processed foods.
“Based on what we have for requirements, The Arizona Republic is produced here in Arizona, so you meet one of the requirements,” Atkinson said. “Absolutely.”