![Farmers and Artisans Market at Farmington - Michigan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Farmers_and_Artisans_Market_at_Farmington_-_Michigan.jpg)
A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the
AP stylebook
The ''AP Stylebook'', also known by its full name ''The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law'', is an American English grammar style and usage guide created by American journalists working for or connected with the Associated Pr ...
, also farmer's market in the
Cambridge Dictionary
The ''Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary'' (abbreviated ''CALD'') was first published in 1995 under the name ''Cambridge International Dictionary of English'', by the Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the ...
) is a physical retail
marketplace
A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a '' souk'' (from the Arabic), ' ...
intended to sell foods directly by
farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...
s to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or outdoors and typically consist of booths, tables or stands where farmers sell their produce, live
animal
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...
s and
plant
Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...
s, and sometimes prepared foods and beverages. Farmers' markets exist in many countries worldwide and reflect the local culture and economy. The size of the market may be just a few stalls or it may be as large as several city blocks. Due to their nature, they tend to be less rigidly regulated than retail produce shops.
They are distinguished from
public market
A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a '' souk'' (from the Arabic), ' ...
s, which are generally housed in permanent structures, open year-round, and offer a variety of non-farmer/non-producer vendors, packaged foods and non-food products.
History
![Drawing by Marguerite Martyn of Soulard Market, St](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Drawing_by_Marguerite_Martyn_of_Soulard_Market%2C_St._Louis%2C_in_1912.jpg)
The current concept of a farmers' market is similar to past concepts, but different in relation to other forms – as aspects of consumer
retailing
Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...
, overall, continue to shift over time. Similar forms existed before the
Industrial Age, but often formed part of broader markets, where suppliers of food and other goods gathered to retail their wares.
Trading post
A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded.
Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...
s began in 1930s, a shift toward retailers who sold others' products more than their own.
General stores and
grocery stores
A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, an ...
continued that specialization trend in retailing, optimizing the consumer experience, while abstracting it further from production and from production's growing complexities.
Modern industrial food production's advantages over prior methods depend largely on modern, cheap, fast
transport
Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, an ...
and limited product variability. But transport costs and delays cannot be eliminated. So where distance strained industrial suppliers' reach, where consumers had strong preference for local variety, farmers' markets remained competitive with other forms of food retail. Starting in the mid-2000s,
consumer demand
In economics, demand is the quantity of a good that consumers are willing and able to purchase at various prices during a given time. The relationship between price and quantity demand is also called the demand curve. Demand for a specific item ...
for foods that are fresher (spend less time in transit) and for foods with more variety—has led to growth of farmers' markets as a food-retailing mechanism.
Benefits
To farmers
Farmers' markets can offer farmers increased profit over selling to wholesalers, food processors, or large grocery firms. By selling directly to consumers, produce often needs less transport, less handling, less refrigeration and less time in storage. By selling in an outdoor market, the cost of land, buildings, lighting and air-conditioning is also reduced or eliminated. Farmers may also retain profit on produce not sold to consumers, by selling the excess to canneries and other food-processing firms. At the market, farmers can retain the full premium for part of their produce, instead of only a processor's wholesale price for the entire lot. However, other economists say "there are relatively few benefits in terms of energy efficiency, quality or cost ... fun though they are, are not good economic models."
Some farmers prefer the simplicity, immediacy, transparency and independence of selling direct to consumers. One method noted by the
special interest group Food Empowerment Project
Food Empowerment Project (F.E.P.) is a volunteer-based non-profit organization focused on veganism and food justice. Its mission statement is "to create a more just and sustainable world by recognizing the power of one's food choices." The organiza ...
promotes
community-supported agriculture
Community-supported agriculture (CSA model) or cropsharing is a system that connects producers and consumers within the food system closer by allowing the consumer to subscribe to the harvest of a certain farm or group of farms. It is an altern ...
programs (CSAs).
In this scheme, consumers pay farms seasonally or monthly to receive weekly or biweekly boxes of produce. Alternatively, they may be required to pay for an entire season's worth of produce in advance of the growing season. In either case, consumers risk losing their money if there is a crop failure.
To communities
Among the benefits often touted for communities with farmers' markets:
* Farmers' markets help maintain important social ties, linking rural and urban populations and even close neighbors in mutually rewarding exchange.
* market traffic generates traffic for nearby businesses
* buying at markets encourages attention to the surrounding area and ongoing activities
* by providing outlets for 'local' products, farmers' markets help create distinction and uniqueness, which can increase pride and encourage visitors to return.
Reduced transport, storage, and refrigeration can benefit communities too:
* lower transport & refrigeration energy costs
* lower transport pollution
* lower transport infrastructure cost (roads, bridges, etc.)
* less land dedicated to food storage
Farmers' markets may also contribute to innovative distribution means that strengthen civic engagement by reducing the social distances between urban and rural communities. With fewer intermediaries, the support of independent growers by local community members can enhance
local economic opportunities and health & wellness in poor communities.
To consumers
Some consumers may favor farmers' markets for the perceived:
* reduced overhead: driving, parking, etc.
* fresher foods
* seasonal foods
* healthier foods
* a better ''variety'' of foods, e.g.: organic foods, pasture-raised meats, free-range eggs and poultry, handmade farmstead cheeses,
heirloom produce heritage breeds of meat and many less transport-immune cultivars disfavored by large grocers
* a place to meet neighbors, chat, etc.
* a place to enjoy an outdoor walk ''while'' getting needed groceries
Evidence seems to show that overall prices at a typical farmers' market are lower than prices at a supermarket because the process of production is more concise; there is less distance to travel, and fewer middlemen.
Regional emphasis
China
The traditional public markets in Chinese cities are known as "
wet market
A wet market (also called a public market or a traditional market) is a marketplace selling fresh foods such as meat, fish, produce and other consumption-oriented perishable goods in a non-supermarket setting, as distinguished from " dry market ...
s" (菜市场) where most vendors are resellers. The Chinese government has attempted to transform these traditional markets to supermarkets in urban renovation projects. It has led to a decline of these markets in some cities such as Shanghai. Yet, in other cities, wet markets persist and dominate the retail of fresh produce and meat. Because of its critical role in ensuring urban food security, wet markets receive various supports from the local government.
After 2010, farmers' markets in China were reborn in some major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu amidst the food safety crisis. These farmers' markets (农夫市集) provide venues for local small ecological farmers to sell their produce within the city, catering urban middle-class's growing demand for high quality food. Many of these market vendors are operating
community-supported agriculture
Community-supported agriculture (CSA model) or cropsharing is a system that connects producers and consumers within the food system closer by allowing the consumer to subscribe to the harvest of a certain farm or group of farms. It is an altern ...
.
European Union
![Farmers market sign](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Farmers_market_sign.jpg)
The EU has formalized efforts to expand farmers' markets to reduce food safety risks and poor nutrition through programs known as "Farm to Fork".
Farm-to-fork was developed with three main goals within the EU:
* To develop effective forms of execution and evaluation of food safety standards
* To work internationally with third world countries and organizations that manage food safety concerns
* To comply with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) standards of research and its management of science-based research
United Kingdom
Since the first farmers' market was established in the UK in 1997, the number has grown to over 550 nationwide. A number of factors led to the rise of farmers' markets in the UK in the late 1990s, including the increasing knowledge of consumers, the struggles of British farmers, anti-French sentiment, and concerns over food safety and quality.
Consumers were worried about the farming practices by which food is produced, processed and the health and safety aspects of certain foods. The emergence of books, magazine articles, and cookery and gardening programmes influence consumer concern of food preparation and consumption.
United States
![Grand Prairie May 2019 29 (Grand Prairie Farmers Market)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Grand_Prairie_May_2019_29_%28Grand_Prairie_Farmers_Market%29.jpg)
Due in part to the increased interest in healthier foods, a greater desire to preserve local cultivars or livestock (some of which may not be up to commercial shipping or yield standards) and an increased understanding of the importance of maintaining small, sustainable farms on the fringe of urban environments, farmers' markets in the US have grown from 1,755 in 1994 to 4,385 in 2006, to 5,274 in 2009, to 8,144 in 2013.
In
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, there are 107 farmers' markets in operation. In the
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
area, 88 farmers' markets exist, many of which support
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
and
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
fare.
In the U.S., all levels of government have provided funding to farmers' markets, for instance, through the federal programs including the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
In the United States, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is a federal program that provides food-purchasing assistance for low- and no-income people. It is a federal aid program, ad ...
, the
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, the
Farmers' Market Nutrition Program, and the
Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program. The programs primarily subsidize purchases at farmers' markets by low-income residents.
Examples include Austin's Double Dollar Incentive Program, Boston's Bounty Bucks, Chicago's LINK Up, Columbia Heights Festibucks in Washington, D.C., Fresh Checks in East Palo Alto, Market Match in Los Angeles, Michigan's Double Up Food Bucks, New York City's Health Bucks, Portland Fresh Exchange, and Seattle Fresh Bucks.
These programs often rely in part on nonprofit support.
Management
A wide range of organizations initiate, organize, and manage farmers' markets, including farmers' groups, community groups, local governments, etc.
Some markets are strictly managed, with rules for pricing, quality and vendor selection. Others are much more relaxed in their operations and vendor criteria. While the usual emphasis is on locally grown food products, some farmers' markets allow co-ops and purveyors, or allow farmers to purchase some products to resell.
There have been recent reports of fraud and products mislabeled as organic or locally grown when they are not. In some cases, fraudulent farmers' markets sell regular grocery store vegetables, passing them off as organic or locally grown, to which are usually sold to unsuspecting tourists.
Some farmers' markets have wholesale operations, sometimes limited to specific days or hours. One such wholesale farmers' market is the South Carolina State Farmers Market, which is a major supplier of
watermelon
Watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a flowering plant species of the Cucurbitaceae family and the name of its edible fruit. A scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, it is a highly cultivated fruit worldwide, with more than 1,000 varieti ...
s,
cantaloupe
The cantaloupe, rockmelon (Australia and New Zealand, although cantaloupe is used in some states of Australia), sweet melon, or spanspek (Southern Africa) is a melon that is a variety of the muskmelon species (''Cucumis melo'') from the fami ...
s, and
peach
The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-fu ...
es for produce buyers in the north-eastern US. Farmers' markets also may supply buyers from produce stands,
restaurant
A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...
s, and
garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate both ...
stores with fresh
fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
s and
vegetable
Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...
s, plants, seedlings and
nursery stock,
honey
Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...
, and other agricultural products. Although this is on the decline, in part due to the growth of chain stores that desire national distribution networks and cheap wholesales prices—prices driven down by the low cost of imported produce.
Product categories
Pork and beef products
![026 Farmers' markets in israel](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/026_Farmers%27_markets_in_israel.jpg)
A wide variety of beef and pork products are sold at farmers' markets in the United States. Typical beef products include steaks, ground beef, jerky, and various types of beef sausage. Typical pork products include sausage and bacon.
Beef and pork products sold at farmers' market in the US, like those of any other beef/pork product that are sold to the public, must originate from livestock slaughtered in a government (federal or state) inspected slaughterhouse. Since government inspected slaughterhouses purchase livestock for slaughter, many often have the facilities, equipment, and personnel to supply meat products to distributors/wholesalers. Like restaurants, such arrangements are popular with farmers' market vendors because they allow them to avoid the overhead costs (facility, equipment, knowledge, maintenance, food safety inspections, etc.) associated with producing meat products that may be legally sold to the public. Resell vendors are in the majority at farmers' markets while vendors that make and package their own meat products represent a very small percentage. Reselling allows vendors to minimize investment and overhead costs by purchasing their products from a commercial slaughterhouse and/or processing plant.
Meat products at farmers' markets being sold by resellers will include a "distributed by/packed for", or similar, statement on the labels of their meat products. Conversely, meat products being sold at farmers' markets that are prepared and packaged by the selling vendor will not include a "distributed by/packed for", or similar, statement.
Unprocessed meat
Unprocessed meat (retail cut) products found at farmers' markets may include a government inspection legend plus a "distributed by/packed for/prepared for" label. Other information on the label will include weight, price, and safe handling instructions.
The official inspection legend includes an establishment number (EST) that identifies the last company that did the processing/butchering, packaging, and labeling of the product. Since the label includes the "distributed by/packed for" statement, the meat may come from the livestock of other farmers/ranchers or a corporate
feedlot
A feedlot or feed yard is a type of animal feeding operation (AFO) which is used in intensive animal farming, notably beef cattle, but also swine, horses, sheep, turkeys, chickens or ducks, prior to slaughter. Large beef feedlots are called conc ...
. The presence of a government inspection legend identifies a meat product that was not processed and packed by the selling vendor. Meat products prepared and packed by the selling
vendor
In a supply chain, a vendor, supplier, provider or a seller, is an enterprise that contributes goods or services. Generally, a supply chain vendor manufactures inventory/stock items and sells them to the next link in the chain. Today, these terms ...
or
butcher
A butcher is a person who may Animal slaughter, slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesal ...
will not include a government seal, and will not include any type of statement that classifies the vendor as a reseller/distributor.
The labels on retail beef and pork products that originate a vendor's/rancher's
livestock
Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...
will not include the "distributed by/packed for/prepared for" statement. Note that the label will still have an official/government Inspection Legend that identifies the establishment that performed the slaughtering, butchering, packaging, and labeling because any product leaving a slaughterhouse to be sold for human consumption must have a government inspection legend. For example, a label that does not have a "distributed by/packed for", etc. statement ensures the buyer that, while the vendor did not do the butchering/packaging/etc., the meat did originate from the vendor's livestock.
The label on a meat product that is processed and packed by the selling vendor will not include a government inspection legend and it will not include a "distributed by/packed for" statement.
Retail cuts of meat products sold by a vendor that performs its own butchering, packaging, and labeling will not include a government inspection legend or a "distributed by/packed for" statement on the label. In such cases the vendor/butcher gets the carcass or other major cuts of meat from a government inspected slaughterhouse and does the secondary butchering ("fabrication"), packaging, and labeling in its own facility. A government official inspection legend is not required on a package of meat butchered and packaged by such a vendor because it is sold directly to the consumer.
Processed meats
Most
processed meat
Processed meat is considered to be any meat which has been modified in order to either improve its taste or to extend its shelf life. Methods of meat processing include salting, curing, fermentation, smoking, and/or the addition of chemical pre ...
products (sausage, bacon, hot dogs, frankfurters, snack sticks) sold at farmers' markets have labels that include a "distributed by/packed for/etc." statement as well as a government inspection legend. The government inspection legend includes an establishment number (EST #) that identifies the commercial processing plant that made and packaged the products; similar to a package of sausage or bacon sold in
supermarket
A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...
s. Alternately, a processed meat product sold at a farmers' market that does not include a "distributed by/packed for/etc." statement and a government inspection legend is a product that is made and packaged by the selling vendor. There are also vendors that sell processed meat products that include a government inspection legend without a "distributed by/packed for/etc." statement; such vendors are selling co-pack products in which the maker/producer prepares and packages the product according to the vendors' recipe.
= Reseller
=
Wholesale processed meat products that are resold at farmers' markets are known as "private label" products. Such products will include a "distributed by/packed for/etc." statement plus a government inspection legend that provides a number that identifies the product's producer. The numbers of critics of private label products are increasing as consumers become aware of poor practices often employed by the products' producers.
It is not unusual to find distributors/resellers of processed meat products at farmers' markets because wholesale products allow vendors to minimize their investment by not having to pay for the overhead (knowledge, skills, equipment, supplies, maintenance, food safety inspections, packaging, labeling, etc.) required to produce their own products. A wholesale package of processed meat will bear a label that has a government inspection legend. The inspection legend will usually have an Establishment Number (EST #) that identifies the processing plant that made and packaged the product. Additionally, the package will contain a phrase similar to "distributed by: Steve's Family Meat Company" or "packed/prepared for Steve's Family Meat Company" somewhere on the label. Both the producer (identified by the EST. # in the inspection legend) and distributor/reseller (for example Steve's Family Meat Company) will be identified on the label.
= Independent processor
=
A product label of a farmers' market vendor that makes and packages its own product will not include a "distributed by/packed for/etc." statement, and it will not have a government inspection legend because its products are sold directly to the consumer.
Information on the producing vendor's label will include the following information:
* Name of company
* Address
* Product name
* Ingredients
* Date code
* Safe handling instructions
It will not include a government inspection legend or seal.
Produce and fruit
![Farmer's Market Peppers](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Farmer%27s_Market_Peppers.jpg)
Ideally, farmers' market produce and fruit are normally grown within a geographical region that is deemed local by the market's management. The term "
local
Local may refer to:
Geography and transportation
* Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand
* Local, Missouri, a community in the United States
* Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...
" is defined by the farmers' market and usually represents products grown within a given radius measured in miles or kilometers. Many farmers' markets state that they are "producer only" markets, and that their vendors grow all products sold. Some farmers' markets do not use the term "producer only" and may allow resellers of produce, fruit, and other food products.
Some farmers' markets allow vendors to resell vegetables and fruits if they are not available locally due to the time of the year. Vegetables, fruit, meat, and other products resold at farmers' markets are available to vendors through food
distributor
A distributor is an enclosed rotating switch used in spark-ignition internal combustion engines that have mechanically timed ignition. The distributor's main function is to route high voltage current from the ignition coil to the spark plugs ...
s. This is a common practice and provides consumers with produce and fruit that are unavailable at certain times of the year. In many markets resell items are a permanent part of the vendor's inventory.
There are four subject areas that consumers tend to consider when purchasing food directly from the producer:
* Variety name
* Whether the product is in-season
* Verifiability of the origins of the food
* Whether any products have a PLU (
price look-up code
Price look-up codes, commonly called PLU codes, PLU numbers, PLUs, produce codes, or produce labels, are a system of numbers that uniquely identify bulk produce sold in grocery stores and supermarkets. The codes have been in use since 1990, and ...
) sticker
All vegetables and fruits have unique names that distinguish them from any other, whether they are for commercial use, for home gardening, or
heirloom
In popular usage, an heirloom is something that has been passed down for generations through family members. Examples are a Family Bible, antiques, weapons or jewellery.
The term originated with the historical principle of an heirloom in ...
. A number or alphanumeric string usually identifies the newer commercial varieties. Vendors' employees might not always know the variety names of the produce they are selling but they will be able to get a list from their employer (producer). There are vendors that violate rules by reselling products at Producer Only markets.
Dairy, poultry, and other products
Depending on the farmers' markets, a wide variety of products are available. Poultry, lamb, goat, eggs, milk, cream, ice cream, butter, cheese, honey, syrup, jams, jellies, sauces, mushrooms, flowers, wool, wine, beer, breads, and pastries are some examples of vendor produced products sold at farmers' markets. Many farmers' markets allow vendors to prepare and sell ready to eat foods and drinks.
Fraud
Some investigations in the United States and Canada have found shops in farmers markets selling fruits and vegetables not sourced from their own farms. In September 2017, a hidden camera investigation by the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...
found that some of the stalls in one market purchased produce on the wholesale market and removed the original stickers, raising the cost to 50% above the retail prices.
''
Tampa Bay Times
The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single y ...
'' food critic and investigative reporter Laura Reiley found some vendors at local farmers' markets selling rejected produce from local wholesale markets, or selling produce purchased from non-local sources. In some cases they claimed to sell products from their own farm at first, but when pressed admitted that they had grown none of the products for sale. In at least one case, despite vendor claims to the contrary, the farm in question was not growing any food, and the produce was all purchased from other companies. Fraud may sometimes be obvious because the type of food being sold does not grow locally or is out of season. Federal regulations in the United States require
country of origin
Country of origin (CO) represents the sovereign state, country or countries of manufacture, production, design, or brand origin where an merchandise, article or product comes from. For multinational brands, CO may include multiple countries wit ...
labeling for produce at supermarkets but not for small independent vendors.
The ''Tampa Bay Times'' also found that packaged foods, such as sauces, honey, jam, and beef jerky may appear to be from local vendors due to the local company's branding on the packaging, but are actually produced at
co-packer
A contract packager, or copacker, is a company that packages products for their clients. The packaging and labeling services can be used for many types of products including foods, pharmaceuticals, household products, and industrial products.
Fu ...
plants with non-local ingredients. In the United States, the FDA requires that the manufacturer's name and address be listed on the food label, which can reveal this discrepancy.
Health risks
Food safety regulations often carve out exceptions for farmers' markets. In the United States, for example, if the produce does not cross state lines it is exempt from the
FDA Food Safety Modernization Act
The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was signed into law by President Barack Obama on January 4, 2011. The FSMA has given the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) new authority to regulate the way foods are grown, harvested and processed. The l ...
. Farmers markets increase the number of outbreaks and cases of
food-borne illness
Foodborne illness (also foodborne disease and food poisoning) is any illness resulting from the spoilage of contaminated food by pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites that contaminate food,
as well as prions (the agents of mad cow disease) ...
,
norovirus
Norovirus, sometimes referred to as the winter vomiting disease, is the most common cause of gastroenteritis. Infection is characterized by non-bloody diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain. Fever or headaches may also occur. Symptoms usually deve ...
, and
campylobacter
''Campylobacter'' (meaning "curved bacteria") is a genus of Gram-negative bacteria. ''Campylobacter'' typically appear comma- or s-shaped, and are motile. Some ''Campylobacter'' species can infect humans, sometimes causing campylobacteriosis, a d ...
.
Gallery
File:Farmers and Artisans Market at Farmington - Michigan.jpg, Produce for sale at a farmers' market in Farmington, Michigan
Farmington is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a northern suburb of Metro Detroit. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the population was 10,372.
It is surrounded by Farmington ...
, United States
File:Mrs Kirkham's Cheeses - geograph.org.uk - 1076114.jpg, Cheese
Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...
for sale at a farmers' market in London, United Kingdom
File:Marché public Lafontaine.JPG, Farmers' market in Rivière-du-Loup
Rivière-du-Loup (; 2021 population 20,118) is a small city on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec. The city is the seat for the Rivière-du-Loup Regional County Municipality and the judicial district of Kamouraska. Its one of ...
, Québec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...
, Canada
File:Cabbages in philippine market.jpg, Farmers' market
A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or o ...
in Cubao, Philippines
File:Farmers' Market (Apni Mandi) in Chandigarh.jpg, Farmers' Market (Apni Mandi) in Chandigarh
File:Farmers' Market in Chandigarh.jpg, Farmers' Market in Chandigarh
File:Fruit and vegetable vendor at St. Jacobs Farmers Market, 2011 July 7.jpg, St. Jacobs Farmers' Market in Ontario, Canada
See also
*
Agritourism
Agritourism or agrotourism involves any agriculturally based operation or activity that brings visitors to a farm or ranch.
Types
A 2018 article published in the ''Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development'' classified a ...
*
Agroecology
Agroecology (US: a-grō-ē-ˈkä-lə-jē) is an academic discipline that studies ecological processes applied to agricultural production systems. Bringing ecological principles to bear can suggest new management approaches in agroecosystems. The ...
*
Artisanal food
Artisanal food encompasses breads, cheeses, fruit preserves, cured meats, beverages, oils, and vinegars that are made by hand using traditional methods by skilled craftworkers, known as food artisans. The foodstuff material from farmers and backya ...
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Carbon diet
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Civic agriculture
Civic agriculture is the trend towards locally based agriculture and food production that is tightly linked to a community's social and economic development. It is also connected to the citizenship and environmentalism within a community. Civic a ...
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Community-supported agriculture
Community-supported agriculture (CSA model) or cropsharing is a system that connects producers and consumers within the food system closer by allowing the consumer to subscribe to the harvest of a certain farm or group of farms. It is an altern ...
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Farm to fork
Farm-to-table (or farm-to-fork, and in some cases farm-to-school) is a social movement which promotes serving local food at restaurants and school cafeterias, preferably through direct acquisition from the producer (which might be a winery, brewer ...
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Local food
Local food is food that is produced within a short distance of where it is consumed, often accompanied by a social structure and supply chain different from the large-scale supermarket system.
Local food (or "locavore") movements aim to co ...
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Public market
A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a '' souk'' (from the Arabic), ' ...
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Slow Food
Slow Food is an organization that promotes local food and traditional cooking. It was founded by Carlo Petrini in Italy in 1986 and has since spread worldwide. Promoted as an alternative to fast food, it strives to preserve traditional and regi ...
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Street food
Street food is ready-to-eat food or drinks sold by a hawker, or vendor, in a street or at other public places, such as markets or fairs. It is often sold from a portable food booth, food cart, or food truck and is meant for immediate consumption ...
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Street market
A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a '' souk'' (from the Arabic), ' ...
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Vertical farming
Vertical farming is the practice of growing crops in vertically stacked layers. It often incorporates controlled-environment agriculture, which aims to optimize plant growth, and soilless farming techniques such as hydroponics, aquaponics, and ae ...
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Wet market
A wet market (also called a public market or a traditional market) is a marketplace selling fresh foods such as meat, fish, produce and other consumption-oriented perishable goods in a non-supermarket setting, as distinguished from " dry market ...
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The 100-Mile Diet
''The 100-Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating'' (or ''Plenty: One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally'') is a non-fiction book written by Canadian writers Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon. In the book, the authors recount their exp ...
'' (book)
References
Further reading
* Burns, Arthur F. (1996) ''Farmers' Market Survey Report''. Washington, D.C., U.S. Department of Agriculture
External links
USDA Farmers Market Facts & Statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farmers Market