Hello hello, Good morning!
Like every Saturday, I sat down with my coffee to watch the news before heading to the fields, and I stumbled upon the news that the European Union has imposed a millionaire fine on the Chinese mega-store Temu.
And it was for nothing more and nothing less than selling illegal products and not properly protecting the consumer. As soon as I heard it, something that I have already told you about before came to mind.
In Europe, farmers are asked for an awful lot, and yes, that is important for healthy and quality produce.
But then we compete with fruit and vegetables that come from outside, having been produced under very different rules.
The underlying idea that Brussels is pushing with these fines is simple. If you set up a giant online marketplace and take your commission, it's not enough to say that you only provide the storefront. You have to be accountable for what is sold.
Welcome to the club of showing papers, I thought, because in the countryside we have been living like this for years. Here, every orange, every persimmon, and every lettuce passes its own examination from the tree or plant, all the way to your box.
With real traceability, with inspectors, and even with that touch of sweat on your brow when they ask you for another document. And still, we keep going because moving the countryside forward is the priority.
You know that we operate in a very particular way.
Every morning I review the orders and we go out to harvest what you have ordered. Here there are no warehouses full of anonymous boxes; there are trees, people, and dirt roads.
Now, to be fair, controls and regulations are always necessary, and even more so when there is a risk to people. It's good that they are getting serious with those who move millions of items. What we ask for from the countryside is consistency.
It makes perfect sense to ask that whoever brings and sells truly takes on their part and that foreign fruit be required to meet the same standards as ours.
Same rules for everyone, same level of guarantees, same scale to weigh each one ⚖️
I'll give you a very common example. When you buy one of our oranges, you know which plot it came from and that we picked it that very morning. If there is any doubt, we trace it back and find the tree.
That proximity is an advantage for you and also a responsibility for us. That's why we take every box we assemble so seriously. There's no trick, no smoke and mirrors, no shortcuts. There's earth, hands, and craft.
Now it's time for me to close my notebook and start organizing the harvests for the coming week.
Thank you for being on the other side and for supporting this way of working that allows us to live off the land with dignity, and for you to eat as you always have, with confidence and without surprises.
A big hug and happy Saturday,
