Investing for a Hungry Planet

Two months ago, the New York Times ran a major spread about an economic renaissance in our neighboring town of Hardwick, Vermont. The upbeat story highlighted a group of fledgling, food-related companies that have aligned themselves in building a sustainable local economy. In an article a few weeks earlier, the Times had reported that in the first six months of 2008, 30 countries had seen food riots in the face of dwindling supplies and soaring costs. These two stories-worlds apart in all obvious respects but they can be linked in at least one way: the cooperative, local-foods model of the Hardwick entrepreneurs points in a direction that could help ease food shortages in Haiti, Indonesia, Mauritania, and myriad other hungry places around the world. The basic model consists of small-scale, locally based businesses cooperating intensively with each other to mutual advantage in a competitive marketplace. Here’s how it works in Hardwick, Vermont: Brothers Andy and Mateo Kehler make prize-winning organic cheeses at nearby Jasper Hill Farm. Their whey byproduct is a key ingredient in a new, nontoxic wood finish manufactured by Vermont Natural Coatings, a company owned by their friend, Andrew Meyers. Vermont Soy, co-located with the wood-finish company, makes […]

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