[Guitar101]

Well now I've seen it all. Marketplace did a story about people that sold produce that wasn't local. Some don't even own a local farm. They bought produce from wherever they could find it and sold it at the Farmers Market in Peterborough as if it was grown on their own farm. Some local farmers complained and wanted these sellers to quit advertizing their produce as "grown locally". What did the market organizers do. They kicked out the local farmers who were doing things honestly.


Peterborough Market ousts farmers who complained that some sold produce that wasn't local.
Five growers who spoke out about vendors misleading consumers about where food was grown called 'dissident'
David Common & Tiffany Foxcroft · CBC News · Posted: May 05, 2018 4:00 AM ET

 

[Kerry Brown]

We had the opposite happen. They kicked out a seller who bought on the open market and didn’t have a farm. A lot of the customers complained because he had the cheapest prices but the board decided if you didn’t grow it yourself you weren’t welcome. Not sure where I stand on the issue but I miss his fresh peas.

 

[RBlakeney]

Who eats vegetables?

 

[laristotle]

A lot of people must have pet rabbits.

 

[JBFairthorne]

I have no problem if someone is selling something that they didn't grow...as long as they're not saying they did. The only thing I really EXPECT from a farmers market is that the produce is local...or somewhat local.

 

[cheezyridr]

i dont care where the fuck it comes from as long as it's nutritious and priced well.
beyond that, is anything else even important?
any answer to that other than a direct "no", is just plain retarded.
you buy food to eat, for nutrition and taste, period the end. your daily diet is not going to solve anyone's financial issues.

 

[Diablo]

i dont care where the fuck it comes from as long as it's nutritious and priced well.
beyond that, is anything else even important?
any answer to that other than a direct "no", is just plain retarded.
you buy food to eat, for nutrition and taste, period the end. your daily diet is not going to solve anyone's financial issues.

what an enlightened post.

 

[Diablo]

Well now I've seen it all. Marketplace did a story about people that sold produce that wasn't local. Some don't even own a local farm. They bought produce from wherever they could find it and sold it at the Farmers Market in Peterborough as if it was grown on their own farm. Some local farmers complained and wanted these sellers to quit advertizing their produce as "grown locally". What did the market organizers do. They kicked out the local farmers who were doing things honestly.


Peterborough Market ousts farmers who complained that some sold produce that wasn't local.
Five growers who spoke out about vendors misleading consumers about where food was grown called 'dissident'
David Common & Tiffany Foxcroft · CBC News · Posted: May 05, 2018 4:00 AM ET

What was their justification for kicking out the farmers?

TBH, I agree with kicking out the non-local sellers.
Ppl go to these things and pay a premium because they believe they are supporting local farmers, and potentially buying more natural food. Otherwise they would go to a grocery store much more cheaply.

 

[jdto]

“More natural food”? How is a locally grown carrot more natural than a carrot grown far away?

 

[mhammer]

Call it a "Produce Market" and be done with it. And if the vendor actually does grow the produce, then they have the right to stick up a sign that says "We grow what we sell" (assuming they aren't selling anything else that they didn't grow.) "Farmer's Market" portrays the produce as grown by those who sell it. Right, of course we grow oranges and grapefruit here in Canada.

Basically, it's a branding issue. I guess it rests on how much people read into the phrase "Farmer's Market". For instance, some folks will have stands that sell baked goods. They didn't necessarily grow the ingredients, but may well have made the baked goods themselves. Some have cheese stands, or sell candy. They made the finished goods but got the materials for them elsewhere. So, not a "farmer", per se, butwe assume they are selling their own products, not reselling something they bought elsewhere. If the market in question has a tradition, and brand, as a place where the vendors sell their own produce and goods, then those mere resellers who piggyback should either be cast out, or obliged to make clear that they ARE resellers. Not really any different than selling stuff as "organic" which isn't. Fraud, false advertising, or whatever you wish to call it.

If the market has a legacy of being a place where anything and everything under the banner of "produce" has been sold by farmers or resellers, for as long as anyone can remember, then resellers are not messing with the "brand" or otherwise detracting from other vendors' perceived quality. Those who DO sell stuff they grew should be able to stick up a sign indicating as such. I can't speak to whether the market in question has one brand or a different one, but if the resellers crossed the line, then they should be outed in some fashion. If those who objected did so in a disruptive way, then there should be a way to resolve this.

 

[jb welder]

Farmers who defended local food kicked out of Peterborough Market | CBC News

 

[mhammer]

It's an all-too-common tale where whistleblowers who calmly raise concerns, are shunted aside by those who find them "inconvenient", and start to become more strident. Having beat their head against an internal brick wall, and exhausted all available recourse, they end up going public. At that point, those who hold the power categorize them as disruptive in some fashion, and then use that as justification for some sort of punitive action.

Having studied whistleblowing for many years, this is a common pattern. As the article notes: In the letter ousting Manske and four others, the market told them "speaking publicly about the PDFMA and portraying it in a negative manner" was a factor in their removal.

 

[Granny Gremlin]

“More natural food”? How is a locally grown carrot more natural than a carrot grown far away?

Really?

Local non big biz farmers are less likely to have highly automated and chemically dependant operations. Maybe not all organic per se, but much closer to it.

Also, and almost more importantly, local produce can be picked when ripe ('on the vine' as it were) vs anything from Cali (for example) that's picked green and ripens on the truck.

It's why a lot of fruit around here sucks (ask anyone visiting from Cali). We just don't realise it because all our fruit is that way, with only limited exceptions.

 

[Steadfastly]

It's an all-too-common tale where whistleblowers who calmly raise concerns, are shunted aside by those who find them "inconvenient", and start to become more strident.

Yes, and especially when money is involved or should I say greed.

 

[Guitar101]

“More natural food”? How is a locally grown carrot more natural than a carrot grown far away?

Some countries use human waste for (manure). Not sure if that's any worse than using cow or horse manure but on a recent episode of the Big Bang Theory, the guys were visiting a brilliant scientist who grew his own tomatoes. When they asked why they tasted so good the answer was "I use my own waste to fertilize them." Yummy.

 

[Steadfastly]

Some countries use human waste for (manure). Not sure if that's any worse than using cow or horse manure but on a recent episode of the Big Bang Theory, the guys were visiting a brilliant scientist who grew his own tomatoes. When they asked why they tasted so good the answer was "I use my own waste to fertilize them." Yummy.

That is illegal in Canada.

When I was a kid we still had a lot of outside toilets in our town and there was a guy who used to come around with his horse and wagon and cleaned out the toilets and used the human manure on his garden. The guy and his son were a little, no, a lot weird. I'm not sure if that's why he used human manure or if using human manure made him weird.

 

[mhammer]

I think the issue is that human waste is more likely to contain human pathogens. That doesn't mean that manure from cows or sheep doesn't containing anything harmful to humans, but the risk of it is lower. I suppose both can be sterilized by high temperatures, assuming one has the equipment.

When I lived in St. John's, forty years back, I was told that the folks on the Lower Battery, who lacked plumbing (can't run sewage and water pipes through rock, and running them above ground gets them frozen) had historically been serviced by "the honey wagon". Some folks had the luxury of collecting their waste in a bucket and tossing it out the window into the Narrows, but not everyone was that close to the water. So the honey wagon tended to that need. No one ever told me what happened with the collected waste.

 

[jdto]

Really?

Local non big biz farmers are less likely to have highly automated and chemically dependant operations. Maybe not all organic per se, but much closer to it.

Also, and almost more importantly, local produce can be picked when ripe ('on the vine' as it were) vs anything from Cali (for example) that's picked green and ripens on the truck.

It's why a lot of fruit around here sucks (ask anyone visiting from Cali). We just don't realise it because all our fruit is that way, with only limited exceptions.

All farms use chemicals, organic or otherwise. A carrot can’t be “more natural” than another carrot. Any pesticide is a chemical, even a “natural” one. Those are just marketing terms companies use to make people believe their food is somehow better than other food. Apparently, it works.

 

[Steadfastly]

All farms use chemicals, organic or otherwise. A carrot can’t be “more natural” than another carrot. Any pesticide is a chemical, even a “natural” one. Those are just marketing terms companies use to make people believe their food is somehow better than other food. Apparently, it works.

No way. You're just being cynical. Companies would never stoop to mislead us this way just to make more money.

 

[cheezyridr]

what an enlightened post.

it 's all too true. i AM a valuable resource to this forum, you guys are lucky to have me.