The August bounty
The neighborhood farmers' market is too often an icon of privilege, rather than a way to nourish and nurture all communities.
It’s mid-August, and where we live, that means harvest time is ramping up. Corn, beans, and tomatoes are filling the farmers’ market, sweet (and hot) peppers and melons are beginning, and peaches are dripping with their delicious juices.
This bountiful time of year reminds me of how privileged I feel to live where I can get fresh, local produce just a few blocks from home. And how odd it is, throughout our human history, that local, fresh, organically-grown food is all too often limited to the privileged.
It makes no sense to me that a gorgeous cantaloupe grown less than 50 miles from here (still a long way), without pesticides or storage, and with no middle-broker - I hand my cash to the farmer whose field it came from - can cost more than one grown two states away, passed through transportation and grocery chains, and piled in a bin. Bulk production, sure, that’s part of the answer. But there’s more. Transportation for food is part of every Farm Bill, making it (often) cheaper for distributors to truck food hundreds of miles away. And even that doesn’t explain why I turn over a bag of frozen cauliflower in the grocery store - a healthy, pretty vegetable that can thrive in our climate - and find the stamp “product of China” on the back.
No wonder too many Americans have a hard time eating well. Ultra processed food can be a comparative bargain in the budget of a family trying to stretch to cover housing, health care, transportation, and day care. Not to mention the ease of finding it in groceries, minimarts, even gas stations. If you are using a grocery delivery service, you know that Oreos will always be Oreos. But you don’t know if your picker will get a ripe melon, a fresh bunch of spinach, or a good bag of carrots.
All those food miles, energy used in processing, energy and materials used in packaging, contribute to our climate emergency. As does the expectation, built over decades of advertising, that we should be able to buy whatever food we want, anywhere we want it, no matter the season, at the price we demand.
It makes the neighborhood farmers’ market into an icon of privilege. Which is sad, because healthy nutritious food is health care, and health care is a human right.
If you are lucky enough to be able to buy from your local farmers, enjoy every bite. And we all must continue to work for a food system that is sustainable, equitable, and based on the health of the land and the people.
Be well, stay safe, and savor every peach.