FARMERS MARKET WITHOUT THE FARMER
Not everyone has the space, time or oppurtnity to "grow their own" and folks are flocking to farmers markets. As the the local food movement gains momentum as people start "knowing their food", but do we really "know the farmer?"
Don't Be Fooled By a Farmers' Market Without Any Farmers
As the food movement continues to gain momentum, demand for local, seasonal fare increases exponentially. But just as all this sustainable food crops up, another entity rears its ugly head: We're seeing more and more attempts by unscrupulous companies to cash in on the movement's popularity by "greenwashing" (or "foodwashing" perhaps) their unsustainable products. Sometimes this insidious technique succeeds in conning well-meaning consumers out of their hard-earned cash. Other times, it's just laughably transparent.
In an example of the latter kind, a Safeway in Kirkland, Washington recently set up tents in its parking lot and hung a huge, yellow banner advertising a new "Farmers' Market". Martha Tyler, manager of the local Redmond Farmers' Market, noticed the setup and stopped by, excited to see which farms the business was promoting. Unfortunately, actual farmers were conspicuously absent. Safeway had just moved their regular produce outside to be sold "farmers'-market style."
Last Fall, I had the chance to visit northern Italy with my family. One of the outings we took one morning was to the local farmers market on the edge of town. Here we were in October at the base of the Alps and the venders were hawking bananas, mangos and avocados! What, how can this be? Something is wrong with this picture! Where was the local foods? Were we considerably shocked and disspointed as we walked down the spendidly colorful rows of tables to only find tables full of foods from Chile and California.
Some tips to help you navigate the world of Farmer's Markets
Warnings signs that the food is not locally grown
beware of stickers
produce out of season: ie corn in december
too much surplus
constant supply - all food all the time
when you ask questions the folks behind the table about the location of farm, they look at you like "farm what farm?"
if you ask to visit their farm and they beat around bush
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- READY FOR THE ROUND UP? | Little Homestead in the City
- Farmers Market Without the Farmer Part 2 | Freedom Gardens
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[...] Check out the article about what to do if you have TOO MANY TOMATOES or this one about GROWING PROPAGANDA or this one about FARMERS MARKETS WITHOUT THE FARMER [...]
In October 2009, we were in Torino, Italy for a film festival and we visited the 'local' farmers market to see what was in season and what kind of interesting heirlooms were being grown in that area. It was really sad to see all of the big ag brands like Dole (pineapples) and Chiquita (bananas) being sold there. We thought we were in the heart of the slow food and eat local movement!
My local farmers market only has crafters. And the locally grown beef is grain fed. It's really frustrating.
[...] Back in August I wrote about the increasing foodwashing at Farmer's Market [...]
You probably weren't at a farmers market. The rest of the world still buys food at traditional markets, there's no stipulation that the food be grown locally. If you've ever been to spain or anywhere in latin america you know what I mean. People don't go to the supermarket, they go to an actual market.