Does your Farmer at Farmer’s Market Really Grow What They Sell?

So many markets, so many farmers.  Do they really all grow their own?

When we hear reports that “farmers” are going to the Los Angeles produce market and “picking” up produce from all over the world and then taking it to one of the 300 markets around the Los Angeles area, we have reason to be upset.

These peddlers need to be investigated and fined and banned from the real Farmer’s Markets.

I have been going to the Pasadena Market for many many years and the manager of the market, is very diligent as are the Dept of Ag officers that appear on a regular basis to check the permits.

But does the Dept of Ag really do the necessary research to know where the products the farmers are selling comes from?

NBC did some undercover work, and apparently confirmed that some farmers are in fact not growing some of the items they are selling.  Just as disturbing, some using pesticides or don’t know if they use pesticides and claim they are “organic” or don’t use pesticides.

More to follow.

In the meantime read the whole NBCLA story here.

And here’s a post from Justin Dervaes from Freedom Gardens. A garden that sells what they grow in the Pasadena/Altadena area. Read here

This is why a community market, like the Arroyo Co-Op, could help locally with establishing and monitoring relationships with farmers and practices they use.