I find that I am increasingly disappointed by Farmer’s Markets. They have grown more popular and can be found in most cities and towns today; however, I find that they consist of mostly vendors selling their crafts or baked goods. Do not get me wrong – I am all for these people having a place to market their wares.
When I set out to a Farmer’s Market, I have visions of coming home with huge bags of beautiful, organic lettuce and cucumbers for my salads, especially when my own garden is not yet producing, or when I want something that I didn’t plant that year. I am looking for produce, but there is little to be found. Usually, at least in these mid-western states, there are a great number of hot peppers, but how many hot peppers can a single person use? Some vendors sell organic, grass fed meat; however if you are on a limited income and looking for a deal, this is not the place for you because the prices are often quite steep. If you inquire of the few vendors selling produce, if theirs is organic, they act insulted.
I have come to the conclusion that if you want to have vast amounts of fresh greens and you do not live in a large city with a natural foods market, you must live in an area where you can garden year round, or at the very least, have a greenhouse. You would of course, need to allow insects into your greenhouse for pollination, and plant polycultures, just as you would do in an outdoor garden. This can be, and has been done, by a few adventurous people who practice permaculture techniques on their property.
This still leaves the vast majority of us having to rely on supermarkets for most of our vegetables. The organic ones are generally prepackaged in plastic boxes and bags, hiding the appearance of bruises or other damage. Since you cannot determine the freshness or ripeness by feel, you are forced to make a choice – to spend more on a prepackaged item of which the freshness cannot be seen or felt – or to settle for the genetically modified, chemically grown, and sprayed products. This is a choice we should not be forced to make. We are to a large extent, what we eat. If we care about our health at all, we know that good health begins with what we put in our bodies, and not by the numerous “wellness” tests devised by the medical doctors. Farmer’s Markets were a great idea in the beginning, encouraging people to eat fresh vegetables while at the same time, supporting their town’s local farmers. Since the current fare offered by Farmer’s Markets is not likely to change, perhaps they should call them by another name. Maybe we could have two types of markets – one for produce and one for crafts.
