The Produce Dilemma: How Shopping at Farmers Markets Can Help Reduce Environmental Impact Compared to Solely Shopping at Grocery Stores
Image Credit: Unsplash, Somi Jaiswal
Have you ever been to your local farmers market? If you answered ‘yes,’ I can venture to say that you probably had a positive experience, not only shopping for locally grown produce but also contributed to your local agricultural system.
The commercialization of farming throughout much of the late-1900s and early-2000s has forced people to become over reliant upon unethically sourced foods that are not beneficial to human health. When approached from a macro-scale, farming has become too focused on quantity and less focused on what is important: Sourcing foods sustainably through ethical growing practices in well-kept soil that is free of pesticides and extraneous, human-made chemicals. The implementation of farmers markets around the U.S. has helped to offset the problem of commercialized farming and could provide real, visible changes if adopted on a national scale.
I will provide support for the idea that farmers markets, like those in Boulder County, are a viable alternative to shopping entirely at the grocery store. Minimizing the visits to the grocery store and focusing on locally grown foods will allow people to eat better foods and ultimately live better lives by being aware of the foods they consume. Being cognizant about where the food comes from and how the food was grown are also important aspects to consider when choosing between shopping at the grocery store or the farmer’s market. Overall, the Boulder County Farmers Markets, one of which is in Longmont and the other in downtown Boulder, prove to be viable options for consumers who are looking to mitigate their impact on the environment. Practicing alternative produce shopping at the farmers market allows people to focus on shopping locally and to eat foods grown closer to where they live.
The issue of sourcing ethically grown foods for people across the U.S. has unfortunately been something people have dealt with for decades. The presence of corporate farming companies like Monsanto and the prospect of "Big Agriculture" have collectively encroached on much of America's farmland and led to unmonitored growing practices of the crops that end up in American grocery stores. Without control of much of the farmland, ethics have gone out the window in hopes of maximizing profits for shareholders invested in the corporate farming companies.
To add on to the problem Monsanto is notoriously known for the creation of products like Agent Orange and DDT, which both have been linked to different health complications in many farmers around the United States. The Boulder County Farmers Markets have strict regulations that ban companies who use pesticides or chemicals in their farming practices from participating as vendors in their markets, according to representatives from the BCFM [1] (Boulder County Farmers Markets.) Combatting the presence of commercialized farming companies like Monsanto is a difficult task to accomplish due to commercialized funding, but BCFM focuses on offering the most environmentally friendly brands and sourcing products from farmers who are local to Boulder County. Doing so contributes to supporting local companies rather than large corporations.
The case against Monsanto reinforces the importance of eating foods that are grown closer to the source and emphasize how stepping away from the commercially farmed foods available in grocery stores can also help local farmers and the local economy. A potential solution to buying commercially farmed foods from grocery stores is shopping at the local farmers market in your community. The Boulder Farmers Market is one of the best in the country when it comes to offering locally sourced and sustainably grown foods from farms that are conveniently located just miles from the selling location in downtown Boulder. The regulations at farmers markets, like those in Boulder County, oftentimes are more stringent than those that exist at grocery stores.
To dive deeper into the Boulder County Farmers Market's regulations for their farmers and vendors, I spoke with the marketing and communications manager for the Boulder County Farmers Markets, Frankie Ryder. She said, “In our sourcing we focus on making sure that the applicants are producing their food locally and make them sign a zero-waste agreement.” For the farmers markets in Boulder, Longmont, and presumably other locations in Colorado, ethical sourcing is not an issue the markets deal with due to the plethora of vendors and farmers looking to sell and advertise their products on a local scale. In searching for ethically sourced products at the farmers market, I decided to focus first on vendors selling plant-based options at the Boulder location.
The regulations that exist for farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs at the local Boulder market result in the innovative products made from real ingredients, like "I Love Heart Beets” that are sustainably sourced and focus on promoting the betterment of human health as opposed to making a profit. "The Boulder County Farmers Markets have extremely strict regulations and rules for their vendors. Luckily our products have been sourced entirely from vegetables grown in Boulder from the start of our operation so that has never been an issue we've dealt with," said Melissa Cooper, the owner of “I Love Heart Beets,” a plant-based hamburger company produced directly in Boulder. According to Cooper the faux hamburgers include a variety of different vegetables like beets, white beans, yellow potatoes, hemp hearts, pumpkin seeds, and onions all from local farms in Boulder County. The mission of Cooper’s company is to offer sustainably sourced products at an affordable price point.
On top of being environmentally conscious, the Boulder County Farmers Market promotes diversity and the inclusion of small businesses by providing opportunity to those who would otherwise not have access. The owner of Simply Fresh Microgreens, Ibrahim Ayad, makes his living through a small operation run out of Broomfield, Colorado. Ibrahim started farming microgreens years ago and recently decided to turn a passion into a business during the pandemic when he saw an opportunity to provide value to an underrepresented market in the agriculture space. Since his expansion into microgreens, the industry has exploded in popularity. At Simply Fresh Microgreens he offers a variety of microgreens including red cabbage, arugula, sun flowers, amaranth and purple radishes to the public.
Image Credit: Unsplash, Anthony Ievlev
Now more than ever people have been relying upon microgreens for foliage-based nutrition rather than traditionally grown salad foliage like Romain and Iceberg lettuce. Some of the benefits enjoyed by microgreen farmers compared to traditional crop farmers, according to Ibrahim, is the ability to control the environment and growing season. With microgreens, a farmer can plant the crops and harvest them throughout an entire year whereas other farmers are at the mercy of Mother Nature.
Controlling both the environment and growing season allows for a higher yield and more money for Ibrahim compared to other farmers who must wait to harvest just once or twice a year. The crop turnover is faster and allows for him to sell more crops in a shorter amount of time. For Ibrahim, the benefits to microgreens farming are numerous and far outweigh the benefits enjoyed by many traditional crop farmers around the U.S.
According to Ibrahim, the growing duration of a microgreens crop is just about two weeks which allows him to be efficient with his selections and provides a higher turn-over rate than traditional crop farming. Along with the shorter growing period and year-round growing capabilities microgreens also use significantly less water than traditional farming. "The amount of water required to one acre of land to the depth of one foot is equivalent to 43,560 cubic feet or 325,851 gallons of water," according to data from the United States Department of Agriculture. Microgreens require less water while still offering ample opportunity for nutritious greens in your diet. To explore more about the world of microgreens and to learn more about Simply Fresh Microgreens, visit this link.
Another vendor I spoke with at the local Boulder market about sustainable farming practices was Michelle Cockroft of Croft Family Farms. The farm focuses on regenerative farming practices and growing pure, clean produce. The farm is in Kersey, Colorado and is owned by Steve and Michelle Cockroft who started the farm a few years ago in hopes of helping their son, Jason who was diagnosed with special needs. After much experimentation with his diet the couple had noticed a positive difference in Jason's condition when they focused on giving him freshly grown organic foods over processed options.
Upon making this amazing discovery the two made it their mission to change what they put in both their own bodies and their son's body. The Cockroft family has created a sustainable option for produce in Boulder that is predicated on self-sufficient dieting and sustainable practices by growing their own food without any help from fertilizers or chemicals. The family-owned farm uses their son, Jason, as part of their mission to grow sustainably sourced foods and to spread a message to others about the importance of nutrition, organic farming practices, and the importance of participating in and supporting your local farmers markets.
In closing, I would like you to consider my initial question once more. If you did not answer ‘yes’ hopefully I have changed your mind. I hope I have changed your mind, and with Summer around the corner and farmers markets in full swing there is no excuse not to visit one near you. Remember, they allow people an opportunity to support local farmers and to purchase their ethically grown foods from sustainable sources. Based on information from sources, environmentally responsible farming practices are a crucial part to growing the produce we eat while not contributing to Big Agriculture or commercialized farming. Sustainably grown foods promote long-lasting health benefits that cannot be obtained solely through foods found in grocery stores. Get out and support your local farmers.
[1] BCFM is used as an acronym standing for "Boulder County Farmers Market". Used in this case to facilitate conciseness and readability of the entire essay without adding confusion.
Sources:
Interview, Melissa Cooper
Interview, Ibrahim Ayad
Interview, Melissa Cockroft
Interview, Frankie Ryder
https://simplyfreshmicrogreens.com/
https://unsplash.com/photos/6DsMsaoFmqY (Photo Credit)
https://unsplash.com/photos/-f-bJjU4GSw (Photo Credit)
