Best Recourse

With all the high demand for fresh local produce some sneaky farmers’ market vendors are selling foods falsely as “locally grown”; proving once again that just because something is labeled organic or natural doesn’t necessarily mean it is. In the last few years there have been reports, mostly out of the Southern California area, of vendors selling produce they themselves had no hand in growing; but that hasn’t stopped them from making a tidy profit off of unknowing customers. Trouble is there isn’t a national standard for farmers’ markets to adhere to; each market is responsible for establishing their own set of rules and standards. So while the majority of farmers you meet at your local market are the honest, hard working, real deal variety, there is the chance that a deceptive vendor has managed to squeeze under the radar. The best recourse to take is the easiest, engage the farmer your buying from, ask them about their farm, where it is, what’s best to buy right now, and perhaps even if they would give tours of their farm. While it’s down right pithy that there are deceptive vendors don’t let these few bad apples spoil the whole bunch.