That is a complex question in our times of industrial farming, artisanal cheese, nonfat, high fiber, free range, fast food and organic.

In answering the question in The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan concludes that attempts to blend industrial production with artisanal are doomed to fail.

Industry, selling commodities, strives to be the lowest-cost producer. That strategy dictates exploiting the economies of scale – “sell ever more cheaply and grow bigger or be crushed by a competitor who does.” This requires techniques and technologies that ultimately push out the skilled artisan.

“Artisanal” production works entirely differently. The “competitive strategy is based on selling something special.” Artisanal production does not strive for uniformity; variation is a virtue – the human touch, the soulfulness of art. Technology and capital can’t replace the skilled artisan.

When industry tries to incorporate the artisanal model, it creates a grotesque, soulless caricature of what made the artisanal product special – the expressiveness of the artisan.

Part of the artisanal model, as Pollan presents it, is to stay local. But for items not produced locally, going global is simply employing the age-old human activity we call trade.

That’s what Elegant Roots is all about — soulful products with the touch of the human hand and the time-honored notion of trade. Everyone benefits, from artisan to recipient.

Co-Founder Rob Favole