This post was was originally sent to newsletter subscribers, but I wanted to share with a broader group of people...
Know Your Farmer - Know Your Food
We’ve all seen the news stories about the cyclospora outbreak. I could write about the horrid conditions that workers endure. I could write about the lack of oversight by the government entities that are supposed to protect our food supply. I could write about contaminated water (as a former environmental scientist, I have firsthand knowledge of how badly our local waterways are contaminated…you will never see me in the Roanoke River). I could also write about the FDA backpedaling on their test results, and how that will potentially lead to more illness. But I’m not going to do that. Let’s talk about “farmers” instead.
Social media is filled with posts that are encouraging everyone to shop from small local farms and farmers markets in order to avoid foodborne illness. And as a small, local farmer I agree.
BUT…and this is a big but.
Not all small local farmers are honest.
There, I finally said something I’ve been wanting to say for years.
Let me preface this by stating that what I’m about to write DOES NOT apply to my current farmers market. Grandin Farmers Market is an amazing market! The food that is available there was grown by small local farms - and most of the time, you are buying it directly from the actual farmer that grew it. And the vendors there are the kindest group of people I have ever met! If you live in the area and want to support small local farms, I highly suggest you visit the market. You will see the difference right away. People have asked us why we left the other markets we have attended - it’s because we believe Grandin Farmers Market, and the entire LEAP organization really care about the community and food access. Their values are aligned with ours and it has been a wonderful experience for us. We are so happy to be a part of this amazing market!!
Back to the topic at hand…when we first started selling at a farmers market, it was an eye opening experience for us. There are “farmers” who don’t actually grow anything. They attend a local produce auction and buy whatever is available. They bring those items to the market and sell them to you. I’m not a fan of the reseller business model, but if it helps provide food to an area that otherwise wouldn’t have access I can live with it…IF the “farmer” is honest about where they source their food.
There are some “farmers” who buy out-of-season produce from out of state farms, and pass it off as their own. The average consumer doesn’t understand that there is a seasonality to food, and watermelon doesn’t grow in Virginia in the winter. I literally saw watermelon for sale at a local farmers market in April...with the grocery store produce sticker still attached. We ran away from that market, never to return!
Over the last few years, I’ve heard some pretty creative answers to questions posed by customers to these so-called farmers…and most of the time, the so-called farmers don’t even answer the actual question that was asked. Some of them can spin the truth so much they could put a politician to shame. I wish they would just be honest with people because their lies hurt honest farmers and give farmers markets a bad name.
One time, a “farmer” told us we were not real farmers because we grow in our yard and don’t grow on a farm. Umm, the last time I checked this person grew maybe 10% of what they sell, the rest is bought elsewhere…I bit my tongue but I’m more of a farmer than this person will ever be. You may fool some people, but wearing overalls does not make you a farmer.
You may wonder why any of this matters.
It matters because people get sick from eating contaminated food. When people get sick, it is EXTREMELY important to be able to trace down the source of the contaminated food. If the food was bought from a “farmer” who bought it from an auction, who got it from another farm, who aggregated food from a bunch of other farms, etc etc - this makes it REALLY hard to pinpoint the actual source of the contaminant!
It also matters because real farmers (no matter how small) work really hard to bring food to the market each week. We care about how we grow our food, and we want our customers to trust that when they buy from us, they are buying something that was grown by us, in a sustainable way, free of contamination and pathogens.
Here are few tips on how to spot a “fake farmer”:
Do you see commercial produce boxes scattered around the table at the market? Are those boxes stamped with the name of an out of state farm? Most likely that produce was grown by someone else, somewhere else.
Sometimes, they don't even try to hide it and leave the PLU code stickers on the produce!
Does the produce look too perfect? Is it all uniform in size without the slightest blemish? This could be a sign that the produce was grown by a large farm with infrastructure that produces “perfect” produce. There are some local farms that have this capability - I would ask the farmer and pay close attention to how they answer.
Is the produce on the table out of season? This can be an indicator that the produce was brought in from out of state - again, ask the farmer and pay close attention to their answer. I happen to grow flowers out of season but if you’ve ever asked me about it, you know I grow them indoors under lighting I set up in my basement. And I’ve shown photo proof on social media :)
Does the farmer have a wide variety of options that change drastically from week to week? They could be buying random produce at auction and bringing in whatever they think they can sell. Ask the questions, listen carefully to the answers.
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I truly hope this hasn’t discouraged anyone from shopping local - that was not my intent. I just wanted to address this issue because I am starting to see posts and news stories online showing dishonest practices at farmers markets and I don’t want markets to get a bad rap because of a few dishonest people. The food supply chain is very broken in this country and I still believe that small local farms (or growing your own) are your safest bet for food!
Like I said, there are honest local farmers at Grandin Farmers Market (and other markets too). You just have to look for the clues, ask the questions and build a relationship with your farmer! If you’re ever in doubt, please ask! Most of us love to talk about our food - you may even learn something and make a new friend along the way!