Colorado Proud loophole works against the state’s farmers

A Colorado Proud label highlights salsa products in a Denver grocery store on Sept. 30, 2024. (Quentin Young/Colorado Newsline)

Fall in Colorado serves as a palpable reminder that 32 million acres — almost half of the state’s land area — is dedicated to agriculture.

During the fall harvest, urban Coloradans flock to farmers markets. Palisade peach stands pop up on street corners and alongside highways. Small grocers peddle local pumpkins in preparation for Halloween. Even some grocery chains sport more Colorado Proud stickers, a label that indicates food has been grown, raised or processed in the state.

However, when fall ends and farmers necessarily stop growing local food for the season, the Colorado Proud label will still decorate the shelves of grocery stores. This begs the question, where is that food coming from?

The Colorado Department of Agriculture developed the Colorado Proud program in 1999. Advertising as Colorado Proud confers a distinct benefit to producers; according to the CDA, 90% of Coloradans indicated they are interested in buying food produced within the state. Unlike other labels, like USDA Organic, it is free to become a Colorado Proud certified producer, removing a barrier for small producers with tight profit margins.

The Colorado Proud label directs consumers to local food, allowing them to participate in and support Colorado farmers … in theory. In fact, there is a major loophole in the Colorado Proud program. Beef certified as Colorado Proud could actually be raised in Kansas on Iowa corn, and simply be processed and packaged in Colorado. Or, Colorado Proud juice may comprise fruit from Mexico and simply be juiced in Colorado. This loophole conveys to consumers that they are eating locally, whether their food was grown in El Paso County or El Paso, Texas.

The CDA should resolve the Colorado Proud loophole. Colorado’s small farmers deserve support from the state, especially because they are operating at a disadvantage. The American government spends more than $30 billion on agricultural subsidies each year. Yet, these programs disproportionately benefit large farms growing monocrops like corn and soybeans, the majority of which are processed into livestock feed and ingredients like high fructose corn syrup.

The most expensive of these agricultural subsidy programs, subsidized crop insurance, demonstrates the inequitable distribution of federal farm aid: Nearly 70%, or $3 billion, goes to the largest 10% of farms by sales. Small farmers are also at a disadvantage because they often can’t produce food in the large quantities that groceries and institutional purchasers require. Nor do they have the same access to distribution networks or marketing teams that large producers have.

Fortunately, many Coloradans understand the value of small, local producers. There is something innately appealing about knowing where and how your food is grown or raised. Food sold directly from producer to consumer, or from producer to a regional distributor to consumer, is part of a short food supply chain. Short food supply chains are transparent. Labels like “organic,” “natural” and “cage-free” are unnecessary when consumers can ask farmers directly about whether they used pesticides.

That transparency promotes sustainability, because what farmer wants to tell their customers that they use toxic herbicides or antibiotics? Or that they decided not to practice farming techniques that protect the soil and ecosystem? Short food supply chains also strengthen local economies, rather than funneling dollars to national corporations headquartered out of state, or out of the country.

The Colorado Proud loophole works against Colorado farmers, undermining a program that could differentiate them from cheaper food grown in our country’s industrialized food system. That’s why the Rocky Mountain Farmer’s Union recommends a common-sense modification to the program: “Colorado Proud products must contain ingredients grown in Colorado.”

Following this recommendation would allow the Colorado Proud program to live up to its full potential, helping all Coloradans build a more resilient local food system.