You Can't Beet These Honest Prices

October is officially here and the days are starting to get nice and crisp. On October 4th, 2017 our class had lovely fall weather--the type of weather where you dress in your warmest clothes but need to remove half your layers by 10 AM. Richmond had a high of 15°C with sun throughout the entire day.

Mike, ensuring that our processing station is up to snuff.

While the morning’s weather was calm and sunny, there was a definite sense of urgency in Mike and Rebecca’s voices. Our usual walk-around to assess the Terrace Garden had to be skipped so we could get right into harvesting for the afternoon market. Now that our Agroecosystems class is only three hours long, and once per week, our class is still figuring out how to use so little time in a productive manner that still contributes to our learning objectives and the overall productivity of the KPU farm. Our group harvested a small amount in a short period of time so some of the class could head over to the Orchard to pick various squash for the market. The crops harvested on the Terrace Gardens were lettuce, arugula, kale, tomato, pepper, zucchini, and cucumber. While our latest seeding of greens was growing beautifully, I believe we harvested the last of our tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers of the season.

Freshly cut and washed mixed greens.

Once the Terrace harvest was complete we met Torin and Grace downstairs in the sustainable agriculture storage area. Torin and Grace had just finished harvesting an abundance of produce from the Orchard Farm-- so, we amalgamated all of our bounty, and loaded the truck up for the market. Since Nick and I were volunteering to help run the market stand, we hopped into the truck with Torin, Grace, and Johnny, while the rest of the class went to go harvest squash at the Orchard.

Jordan, finalizing some very important documents.

As we drove to the market location we discussed a recent CBC Marketplace episode, which uncovered and made public the issue of Ontario farmers market vendors selling produce that was not grown on their farms. Many of the farms that were investigated told bogus stories of how they grew and harvested their produce from their own land, when in reality they had stopped by the local wholesale distributor, removed the stickers, and re-sold it as their own. While lying to your customers is always an unethical thing to do, our discussion led me to believe that re-sellers do have a place in farmers markets, and that publicly shaming produce sellers, and farmers may not be the right route to go if creating a sustainable food system is the objective. Torin’s family runs a vegetable farm in the region of Ontario where the investigation took place, and immediately after the investigation his family estimated that 1 out of 5 customers interrogated them about whether or not their produce was truly grown on their farm. This attitude will surely create more distrust between both the producer and consumer.

Setting up the KPU market stand.

This topic brings up a consistent issue in our food system: the local food movement has trained consumers to believe that ‘knowing thy farmer’ is the only thing that is needed to ensure a sustainable food system. While this is key, I believe consumers should also attempt to educate themselves around the food system as a whole and the interdependence of the many different scales of agricultural production that currently exists. Re-selling produce is quite critical to many vegetable farmers, as it allows them to have a larger number of products to sell, and while a farmer may be incredibly passionate about growing the finest cabbage, his or her ability to re-sell some peppers alongside that cabbage, could just keep their business stable and secure. 

Ontario boasts some of the largest, most vibrant farmers markets in Canada, and this is most definitely due in some part to farmers who re-sell produce. Furthermore, re-sold wholesale produce is usually going to be cheaper, making farmers markets accessible to both low and high income citizens. Everyone deserves the right to walk outside and buy their groceries under the summer sun.

So, while I do not support any entrepreneur who knowingly lies about the origins of their product, I still do not support the public shaming that took place in the CBC Marketplace episode. If we want to practically deal with farmers market vendors who lie, here are some policies that could be put in place: 

• Have a cap on the number of re-sellers/ wholesale distributors that are allowed in a farmers market. 
• Institute a policy that requires all re-sellers advertise where their products are truly from. 
• Have third-party audits of all farmers market vendors.  

KPU market stand

The rest of the day went very well. We had a small rush of people during the first hour, and steady customers until the end of the market. Although we didn't completely sell out, our sales were estimated at just above average. On a high note, everyone loves our beets! So many repeat buyers commented on the delicious flavour, and the beautiful variety of colours that were offered.