The farmers market

Today on the Capitol lawn several commodity groups are sponsoring a farmers market. It's a neat idea and I plan on stopping by later today to pick up some fresh fruits and vegetables. Farmers markets are an emerging trend in agriculture. With the worries about food inspection and reported problems with foreign food (Chinese) there seems to be growing interest in buying food locally.

I was visiting with some friends Saturday night who are heavily into the buy local mentality. They pay a large sum of money up front and receive fruits and vegetables throughout the summer from a local farmer. They encouraged me to do the same but frankly, I don't like being tied to a certain menu based on what that farmer can harvest during a given week. I also fear that I wouldn't end up eating all the vegetables they'd send me and it would be a big waste of money and food.

But their participation in that program led into a greater discussion of why we should all buy local food. Buying local is a romantice ideal which is environmentally and community friendly. I agree with it in principle, but not altogether in practice. In an ideal world it would be great to buy all my food from farmers in my community. Spending locally can significantly contribute to the local economy. But the reality is that buying local can sometimes be inconvenient and costly.

So I have taken the middle road. I don't drive from store to store searching for Michigan grown products but I do shop at the farmers market when I can. If I am in a grocery store I give preference to Michigan products, and I don't mind spending a little more money on certain items if I know the farmer. The nice thing about Michigan is that we do have quite a variety of food. In fact, Michigan is the second most diverse agricultural state in the country next to California.

In the end I have no idea if my buying habits make much of a difference in the new "flat earth economy" but hopefully they do. Regardless, local food generally tastes better and that's probably the best reason of all to buy local.