A Geography of Taste:
Iowa's Potential for Developing Traditional
and Place-Based Foods
Conclusions
The development of regionally based food products
and GIs (Geographic Indications) in the European Union
highlights a move away from a commodity-based
agriculture toward a quality-based system with highly
differentiated products that take advantage of the
ecology and tradition of the specific region. These
products cannot be grown elsewhere and labeled with the
same name. GIs offer European consumers high-quality
products with a unique story, and offer farmers a
potential alternative to expansion as the only avenue to
remain profitable through farming.
GIs have not been without challenges for European
farmers. Consumer familiarity and understanding of GI
classifications has been slower to achieve than
anticipated; with less than a majority understanding
that a PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) signifies
the product comes from a well defined region.* There
also are reports of GI abuse where consumers are sold
food products that were not grown or processed in the
region identified with the food product. These
marketplace abuses increase the legal fees of farmers,
decrease their market opportunities, and undermine
consumer confidence. In spite of these challenges, most
European farmers view GIs as an important strategy to
maintain profitability, product quality, and food
tradition.
Iowa has a unique food history that has been heavily
influenced by the state's ecology and the culture and
traditions of its inhabitants. The perception of Iowa as
a farm state by urban residents across the United States
offers a competitive advantage in the development of
place-based food brands linked to agritourism
opportunities.
Although American consumers value local foods, it is
unclear which traits of place-based foods they value the
most, and how they would perceive such foods among the
confusing array of other differentiated foods already in
the market.
Study highlights uniqueness of Iowa's diverse foods and
traditions
This paper should not be viewed as a call for Iowa to
return to its agricultural heritage and compete with
other states in producing an array of commodity-type
foodstuffs when other states have competitive advantage
for those products. Rather, the study of the integration
of this food history, ecology, and culture can teach
valuable lessons about what is unique and different in
Iowa, and perhaps shed some light on how we can
capitalize on those differences in the marketplace with
a focus on place-based foods linked to agritourism and
economic development.
Iowa's diverse food history and cultural traditions need
further investigation in order to determine the state's
potential for promoting place-based foods. One starting
place for development of place-based foods in Iowa may
be the grape and wine industry, in part because of the
widespread acceptance that geographical origin of the
grapes has an impact on the quality and taste of wines.
The Missouri Regional Cuisines project has chosen grapes
and wines as the initial focus of their pilot project
for this reason. As noted earlier in this paper, one
prominent Iowa winemaker predicts that it will take 15
to 20 years to develop Iowa wines that have true
regional identity.
Other states such as New York and Missouri see the
combination of place-based foods and agritourism as an
important ingredient in the recipe for economic
development in rural communities. Given its national
perception as a rural agricultural state and a leader in
alternative/sustainable agriculture, Iowa needs to
explore this opportunity further as an option to
increase economic development for its rural communities.
The following section offers several recommendations to
further research the potential of place-based foods in
Iowa.
These actions recommend further research and exploration
of the economic and community potential of place-based
and traditional foods in Iowa:
-
Research and
document Iowa's food production history of unique
and highly differentiated food products, including
food folklore and traditions
-
Use maps of Iowa's soils, geology, land cover, and
food history to develop a detailed map that would
integrate Iowa's distinct ecological regions with its
geographic food history.
-
Conduct (or gather existing) case studies on the
economic costs and benefits of U.S. food products that
have certification marks.
-
Conduct consumer-based market research on which
geographic-based traits are most likely to appeal to
Iowa and Midwestern consumers.
-
Research the link between place-based foods and agritourism and how the two can function symbiotically
to increase economic development of Iowa's rural
communities.
-
Invite personnel from several regional and heritage
food projects in the United States to visit Iowa and
share information about how they developed and
implemented their work.
-
Encourage the Iowa grape and wine industry to discuss
how best to develop AVAs within the state and in
collaboration with neighboring states.
-
Research and develop strategies to overcome the
policy-related challenges to encourage production of
place-based foods in Iowa, the Upper Midwest, and the
United States.
-
Based on research described above, the state of Iowa
should allocate funds to develop an appropriate
place-based foods program linked to agritourism and
economic development that will support Iowa's farmers
and rural communities.
making.
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