On Saturday, October 7th, 2017, I embarked on an adventure to explore Downsview Farmer’s Market and look into the products that are sold there. Growing up, my parents told me many stories of their regular visits to the market for food. Almost all food in Sri Lanka, is either grown locally or caught fresh at the local bays. They were raised surrounded by a variety of different agriculture, which helped feed the families of the towns, and bring in revenue. On the contrary, the choice of buying local or not, has never crossed my mind. The culture which I was raised in, is very different from that of the people who grew up in Sri Lanka. There, fresh and local food is what is in demand. This is because, in most cases that is all that is …show more content…
Deciding to look more into this, I asked a worker to show me any locally grown products available. The worker introduced me to the owner, who was able to tell me that most of the products sold were not local, but rather imported from other regions of Canada, some of the fruit even being imported from outside the country. Despite this, I was pleasantly surprised to find that a large variety of produce at the market labelled as “organic”, meaning that they were grown on farms which utilize agricultural measures deemed to be environmentally friendly. Previously, I wasn’t aware that pesticide-free or growth-hormone free product growth was a popular growth method. This is because I have always been informed about genetic modifications, or preservatives that were used to get the most out of crops or make them last longer.
In my opinion, I believe that most people tend to not buy “local” because it is of popular belief that these products are more expensive than the ones found in big box stores such as Fortinos, Food Basics, etc. Many people, including myself tend to believe that these products must cost more, because they are grown isolated, in smaller quantities, with more care, etc. Although, when comparing the prices at the farmers market, to those of local grocery stores, the prices tend to be quite similar
Hi, Ella! Kliman addresses many pros and cons of buying local foods! Just to name a few, Kilman begins by explaining that "local reduced our 'carbon footprint'" because trucks do not have to travel as far to deliver fresh produce (Kilman 67). We are made to believe that local foods change the system entirely, however, this is not really the case. Kilman provided a statistic that "local and organic foods currently make up 3 percent of food consumption in America" (Kilman 67). In the long run, this small amount of percentages does not do as much as consumers think it does. People often argue that local food is fresher and overall better, but Kilman says that "local is not inherently fresher, nor is it inherently better" (Kilman 68). Since the
Before beginning their journey Catacalos and Janzen asked themselves questions such as, “Was choosing to consume foods locally a scam or was it worth their time?” along with “Is eating locally better for the environment?” as well as “Is choosing to eat locally more expensive than not?” Within a month’s time, both Catacalos and Janzen hoped to have their questions answered (117).
The three contingencies of Patel’s plan include changing the governing laws of agribusiness, improving the conditions of and supporting rural areas, and changing the role of eating in society. Before much progress can be made, the ways in which businesses are required to operate must change. Without any new legislations to stand in their way, nothing will alter the ways in which they operate or the ways they look to further solidify their dominance. Next, rural growers simply need more help. In current conditions, they barely scrape by due to the increasing demands from their purchasers and the decreasing amounts of compensation collected. Contrary to the original perception, crop subsidies, most associated with corn, provide no help to these smaller farmers. They can’t compete with the mass-growers and their enormous swathes of land. It drives the rural farmers out of those particular markets, and it often prevents them from growing crops their land is most suitable for. Finally, Pollan pushes the idea that there must be a revamp of the meaning of food to consumers. As it stands, people view eating as a task rather than an enjoyable experience. This leads the consumer to think little of the food, especially in ways Michael Pollan insist they must think about the food. This anti-cooking architecture of society is, nonetheless, a self-perpetuating cycle of
Buying local is the new slogan of producers and sellers selling their foods in the food market. There are a few stances that can be taken such as not bothering to care about where the food came from, getting what can be purchased within reason, and the extreme locavore. Although eating local and organic is desirable, it is improbable to create a sustainable lifestyle with the given difficulties.
Socially speaking, the time it takes to shop like a locavore isn’t worth it. Not only must a person drive a far distance for food not too different in quality from kroger, but as part of the locavore lifestyle, the individual must have a good relationship with whom sales the product. Altogether, the lifestyle of a locavore involves too many implications. All of which make it not worth buying from locally grown
Also, as I mentioned before, supermarket is really convenient for consumers for not only having better quality food in lower price but also serving multi – options in a large amount. Compare to the supermarkets, the space of Farmer’s Market is limited, which leads to the food options are limited. Farmer’s Market cannot satisfy every consumer’s need of food. From what I observed in Berkley’s Farmers Market, the food options is really being restricted. Farmer’s can only get food that is easy to be carried and kept like fruits, vegetables and made up articles for selling, and consumers, in the other hand, have limited options. Also, not everyone has the ability to get the food from Farmer’s Market for its location and
America’s vast food supply has increased. Foods that were once hard to come by can be found in almost all the grocery stores across the nation. In the article “What’s Eating America”, by Michael Pollan, who is a professor of journalism, explains how the bounty of food came about. He writes about the creation of synthetic fertilizer and how it was used to fertilize crops and essentially make all the foods today. He writes about the harmful effects that are occurring as a result of the chemically made fertilizer. In another article called written by Katherine Spriggs, a student from Stanford University, she writes about the benefits of buying local versus becoming dependent on the import of food. She feels that buying from local farms
Canada’s ethnic food market is growing by 5% every year (Agriculture and Agrifood Canada, 2012). The South Asians are vegetarian and like product from their home country (Campbel, et, al., 2016). It emphasizes the importance of the local production of the South Asian vegetables. This is an alternative food initiative which increases the social justice, reduces food insecurity, improve dietary intake, environment sustainability and community health (Lekkoe, 2011, Carney et al., 2012). The community garden also spaces for citizenship and community development (Armstrong, 2000, Baker, 2004, Kurtz, 2001, and Schmelzkop, 1995).
Global warming, pollution, and dwindling fossil fuels will always be the conservational problems if nobody starts to buy local grown foods. Katherine Spriggs, author of the essay, “On Buying Local,” explains how having a large variety of foods at all times of the year is not worth the negative effects in the communities and their economies (Spriggs 92). As a community, many environmental challenges are being faced; Buying local will help bring advantages to not only the environment, but also the small towns and the
In the search of better alternatives, consumers have created a $20 billions market for industrial organic (Pollan 16.) Therefore the importance of knowing what is the local sustainable food system and three of its most outstanding advantages.
With the world’s population continuing to increase, the demand for food is higher than ever. This increase in food demand also calls for more efficient ways of growing and providing the food. Two methods that are very controversial are the organic and conventional method. While many people support the organic method because of its known benefits, others feel that it is an over inflated industry that cheats consumers out of their money. But recently many studies have disproved those critics. These studies prove that Organic food is a better choice than conventional because it is better for the environment, avoids the use of chemicals, and is generally more beneficial.
In “On Buying Local” Katherine Spriggs shares her views on the buying local products is better than the imported items for positive environment and local industrial impact. The author explains about the benefits of buying local and their advantages on the local economy and other fields. She highlights some views of the products which can be good for small farms and small rural economics. The argument given by the writer is that small farms are totally opposite than the large farms as they grow crops according to the seasons. Moreover, local buying has negative effects also as it hurts the poor workers like if everyone buying locally then people avoid the global market and the workers work in global markets can lose their jobs also. On the
Berry begins the article by pointing out the consumer’s ignorance as they do not realize the connection they have with the agricultural cycle. Many believe that eating is an agriculture act, however, they do not associate themselves with this act because they do not have direct contact with the actual food production process. Berry explains that the reason why people think this way is because “they just buy what they want - or what they have been persuaded to want” without a second thought on the qualities and the states of the products (3). He appeals to the reader’s emotions as he describes the nature of the consumers because it demonstrates the reality of how little people nowadays care what they consume into their body. Berry further enforces his appeal on the audience’s emotions by claiming that “food is pretty much an abstract idea” to most of the urban shoppers (4). Shoppers understand that food is produced on farms, but have no knowledge on the locations of the farms, the type of farms, and the techniques that are involved in farming. This statement supports Berry’s claims on the consumer’s ignorance because it points out the important role that consumers actually play
Does your local grocery store have a section dedicated to natural or organic foods? I bet it does. That probably wasn't the case in 1980, when Whole Foods Market opened their first store in Austin, Texas. In the past 30 years, Whole Foods Market grocery chain has become the worldwide leader in natural and organic foods.
Society must educate itself on what type of food is healthy such as fresh or fresh frozen vegetables, lean meats, whole grains and fruits. Parents should take the time to explain what these are and why they are important, educating themselves if necessary. Families can also extend this education to a hands-on experience but starting a small vegetable garden which produces some of the vegetables they eat. Author and farmer, Sharon Astyk, and sustainable systems land planner, Aaron Newton, argue that people need to take back the control of the food selection and prices by growing their own or purchasing directly from local farmers. In their article, “The Rich Get Richer: the Poor Go Hungry”, Astyk and Newton (2015) write, “When we grow our own food, or buy it directly from local farmers, we take power away from multinationals” (p.518). I agree that society should become more involved and self-sustaining pertaining to food to retain independence from companies that are loyal to shareholders. This education will provide the current and future generations necessary resources to make improved food choices, thereby reducing the obesity and diabetes epidemics gripping our nation.