An article published this Sunday in the Regional section of the New York Times titled “In Pursuit of Farm Fresh Flavor” by Kim Severson did a lot to restore my faith in — well — human cognitive functioning (yes, it’s been that bad). But on a smaller scale, my faith in the mainstream media is also somewhat repaired.
Full text of the New York Times article has been made available online by a number of sites including [this one].
“All over the tristate area, the church of local food is growing at rates that have farmers, serious cooks and even the most casual farm stand shoppers in awe.”
–In Pursuit of Farm Fresh Flavor
Severson describes “local food fever” as it’s presenting itself in the explosion of farmers markets and people’s preference for regionally grown food. But that’s not all. She matter-of-factly describes the “runaway train called organics” — the one with the the federal government, Wal-Mart and Chinese imports that is diluting the public’s faith in things labeled organic.
The good news is that government and corporate involvement in organic marketing has forced people into a situation where local is quickly becoming the new organic. And to see both the problem — as created by corporate America — and the solution — created by consumers in response — written about in one place was a real bright spot in my week.
And I can vouch for the existence of this “local food fever.” A neighborhood farmers market opened here in Rochester mid-summer and it’s attracted crowds from day one. Rochester NY has a large historic farmers market, and the surrounding area supports multiple farm markets and CSAs (community supported agriculture) that provide people with access to locally grown fresh food. But the Thursday afternoon South Wedge Farmers Market is so popular that if you arrive late, chances are those heirloom tomatoes you were after will already be gone.
Some vendors at the market are using the NOFA NY Farmers Pledge instead of USDA Organic certification. This is fine with me — in fact I’m thrilled. The Pledge allows farmers to unambiguously adhere to the spirit of organic agriculture without necessarily conforming to all of the the USDA’s National Organic Program regulations — for which closest thing to spirit is that new-corporate smell.
There seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel for our food supply. Oh happy day.
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