Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] Scammers at the Farmers' Market: How to Make Sure You're Supporting Local Farmers

livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: willowridgefarm@iowatelecom.net
  • To: "Healthy soil and sustainable growing" <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Scammers at the Farmers' Market: How to Make Sure You're Supporting Local Farmers
  • Date: Thu, 30 Sep 2010 09:39:18 -0500 (CDT)

>
We have had 3 different vendors asked not to come back becasue of this
very problem. They have shopped at produce auctions and then turn around
and bring their purchases back to market and peddle as their own. A few
have been turned in to the state, as these vendors collected low income
food coupons and the state of Iowa requires you to produce a large
percentage of the produce you are selling or you can't accept the coupons
as payment. The state then in turn sends a person out to physically
inspect the farms.
Another tip...look at a persons hands...no dirt under the nails always
raises an eyebrow from me...I grow our own and my hands are never truly
free of my garden!

Take care,
Cherie






> This is a problem we've seen ourselves. People don't go to markets to get
> the same stuff in the supermarket. It can destroy a market permanently for
> everybody.
>
> paul tradingpost@lobo.net
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> Scammers at the Farmers' Market: How to Make Sure You're Supporting Local
> Farmers
> Be educated, be vigilant, know what's in season!
> http://planetgreen.discovery.com/food-health/scammers-at-the-farmers-market---and-how-to-make-sure-youre-supporting-local-farmers.html
> By Colleen Vanderlinden Wed Sep 29, 2010 07:48
> http://planetgreen.discovery.com/food-health/scammers-at-the-farmers-market---and-how-to-make-sure-youre-supporting-local-farmers.html
>
> Apparently, the popularity of farmers' markets is just too much temptation
> for some unscrupulous vendors.
>
> NBC Los Angeles' news team decided to do some checking around at local
> farmer's markets, and paid visits to the farms where the vendors claimed
> they grew the food they were selling. In some cases, they found fields
> full of weeds or dry, empty fields. The vendors were selling vegetables
> and fruit they had bought wholesale, and were selling it at premium prices
> at local farmer's markets, claiming it was locally grown and organic.
>
> As to the "organic" claim, NBCLA also sent several items purchased from
> vendors who claimed not to use pesticides to labs for testing, and the
> results came back positive for pesticides. One of the "farmers" claimed
> that the pesticides found on their produce was the result of overspray
> from nearby farms, but the levels found on the tested produce were too
> high for it have been mere "drift."
>
> This particular story was reported in California, but there's no doubt
> that it's happening all over the country. Near my home, for example, there
> is a "farmer's market" in a church parking lot every weekend during the
> summer. How they managed to have perfect-looking "locally grown"
> watermelons in early May in Detroit is beyond me. Needless to say, I don't
> shop there.
>
> How To Make Sure You're Supporting Local Farmers Rather than Slimy
> Opportunists
>
> * Research, research, research. Try to get to know a few vendors
> really well. Ask where their farm is located, how long they've been
> farming, how they handle pest and disease issues. See if they're
> listed on sites like LocalHarvest -- not all farmers are, but it
> doesn't hurt to check. Ask them the specific variety of whatever
> produce they're selling. If they really grew it, they should be able
> to tell you that those are 'Emerite' filet beans, not just "green
> beans."
>
> * Look over the display. Really look. This is a great tip from
> Homegrown Evolution. Are all of the tomatoes the exact same shape and
> size? Do the apples have that waxy supermarket look? Are the cucumbers
> all perfectly uniform? Are they selling "local" watermelon in Detroit
> during the first week of May? If so, they probably went to the
> warehouse club and bought produce to sell at a premium at the farmer's
> market. Steer clear.
>
> * Know what's in season! If you see watermelon in April or peppers in
> December in Minnesota or Michigan, chances are good that they have not
> been grown locally. While some farmers have large heated greenhouses
> to grow produce year-round, not all do, and it pays to ask questions
> if the vendor is displaying a lot of out-of-season produce.
>
> As with many things when you're trying to live a more sustainable life, we
> need to be vigilant and educated. Don't trust that just because the sign
> says "farmers' market," you're supporting nothing but local farmers. While
> the majority of vendors are legitimate, it's unfortunately up to us to
> make sure that we're buying from them, and not some crook who's trying to
> take advantage of the situation.
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Livingontheland mailing list
> Livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/livingontheland
>






Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page