If we are to live in a cooperative society, it is a moral imperative that we question our beliefs. And so, though I am a believing, practicing locavore, I devote this post to questioning that position.
First, I must present my conclusion. I think the issues are troubling, but I do not believe that they are strong enough to counter what I believe to be the benefits that local foods offer. They should be taken seriously, however.
Secondly, I must admit that these questions are taken directly from the New York Times Freakonomics blog. I recommend that people explore the content directly, I will not and cannot summarize it here. Freakonomics published a series of three articles entitled “Are Farmer’s Markets That Good for Us?“; “Let the Farmers’ Market Debate Continue“; and “Is Locavorism for Rich People Only?”
The first article questioned the interpersonal connection formed between a farmer and a market-goer. Perhaps, the article speculated, the novelty of talking to the person who grew your food would eventually wear off. By no metric am I a big people-person, and I do not go to farmer’s markets to chat with the farmer. Rather, the interpersonal interaction, for me, centers around determining where the food came from, how it was grown, and when it was grown. I am certainly open to small talk, but if that were all I were looking for, I don’t think I would go to the market.
The second and third articles both tackled the question of whether farmer’s markets strengthen community bonds. The assessment given was that they may not. The second article seemed to have only one concrete point: That small farms may not be aware of the most state-of-the art sustainable practices. The third article made the claim that since going to a farmer’s market is a leisure activity, it is done only by the affluent, and thus the incentives for farmers are to grow foods that appeal to the wealthy, and thus further marginalize poorer segments of the community (most likely minority groups). The first argument seems to live only in the theoretical world. The main advantage one gains from talking to one’s farmer to to know what sustainable practices were used. From experience, the doubt seems to be unfounded. The third argument, however, seems sound. It is important to make farmer’s markets accessible, and the accessibility issue suffers from positive feedback loops. However, this is also theoretical. To know if there really is a problem one would need to look at actual farmer’s markets with actual people. I cannot claim to have a full data set, but walking around the public market this morning, there seemed to be people from a mix of economic backgrounds. Perhaps wealthy shoppers have a large impact on what farmers grow since they are able to wield more economic power (they have more of the cold hard stuff), but programs that increase the value of food stamps and EBT are certainly pointing us in the right direction.
But don’t take my word for it. Read the articles, go the the markets, and decide for yourself.
Nota bene: I have left a LaVar Burton quote unattributed in the above text. Can you figure out what is was?