Deception at the Farmers’ Market

By Tara Parker-Pope
Tomatoes at a farmers' market.Alan Zale for The New York Times Choosing tomatoes at a farmers’ market.

Is the produce you buy at your local farmers’ market really grown locally?

A surprising investigation by the local NBC affiliate in Los Angeles discovered several examples of false claims at various Southern California farmers’ markets, including a vendor who purchased boxes of produce from wholesale produce warehouses, including items grown on big commercial farms as far away as Mexico.

We investigated other vendors, like Juan Uriostegui, who sells produce at the West Hollywood farmers market on Mondays. He tells customers that everything he sells is grown on his farm in Redlands, in San Bernardino County.

We bought some of his broccoli, and the same day, we showed up at his farm with officer Allan Lampman of the San Bernardino Department of Agriculture. Lampman asked Uriostegui to show him where he was growing broccoli, but all the farmer could show him was a patch of dry dirt.

“I’m looking at the fields, saying, ‘I don’t think you grew that broccoli,'” Lampman said.

The report also tested five boxes of strawberries that claimed to be pesticide-free. Lab tests detected pesticides in three of the boxes.

The report noted that many of the foods sold at the market lived up to their claims. So how do you make sure you’re getting local, pesticide-free produce when you shop at the farmers’ market? The report offered this advice.

Operators of farmers markets we spoke to suggest shoppers get to know vendors they buy from, and ask them a lot of questions. Ask for the exact location of the farm where the produce is grown. If they claim their produce is “pesticide free,” ask them what methods they use to control pests on their crops. Ask exactly when the produce was picked. If the farmer can’t give you specific answers, or seems unwilling to answer your questions, market operators say you should walk away.

To see the full article, “False Claims, Lies Caught on Tape at Farmers’ Markets,” go to the NBC Web site, and then please join the discussion below. Have you ever suspected the produce you buy at the farmers’ market isn’t really from a local farm?

Comments are no longer being accepted.

Richard Gustafson September 24, 2010 · 10:00 am

Most large farmers’ markets have a manager. If it is not their responsibility to check on the farmers they allow to sell in the markets, it should be. I urge all to begin to put pressure on the managers of the markets. Getting to know the farmers is of course also good advice. My advice, if everything looks picture perfect as in the supermarket, beware.

david Joseph September 24, 2010 · 10:00 am

It is hard for me to decide which is worse, misrepresented vendors or the prices that they charge. I was at the Union Square Greenmarket and the vendor wanted $22/# for radish sprouts and $6/# for tomatoes. The real green is how fast the prices are rising. Seems the voyage of food discovery has been replaced by birkenstock capitalism.

Opera Girl September 24, 2010 · 10:02 am

This is why it is so important to get to know your local farming community. For the last few years, I’ve participated in U-Pick events at a couple of my favorite farmers’ market vendors farms in the Central Valley of California. In this way, I’ve been able to support the farmers on their own turf and see how things are run, and it’s truly inspiring to get a tiny taste of how much work it takes to produce all that delicious, organic food!

//operagirlcooks.com

FoodFitnessFreshair September 24, 2010 · 10:06 am

I worked at a CSA over the summer that also participated in several farmer’s markets. I’d hear disturbing stories all the time about how neighboring farms would falsely label conventional crops as organic when they’d run out of the organic products. Or bottle milk and slap an organic label on it in order to jack the price. It’s just impossible to oversee all of this and ensure that the proper regulations are being carried out. Farmers also often buy crops from other nearby farms to enhance their selection of items to sell at the markets, misleading customers to believe that everything on their table was sold by them when that truly wasn’t the case. However, I mostly observed this being done on a local level, where farmers would buy from local amish farmers. It’s even more disturbing to hear that this is being done on a cross-country basis, defeating the whole purpose of farmer’s markets.

//www.foodfitnessfreshair.com

EW September 24, 2010 · 10:13 am

The state only funds quarterly inspections of CFMs in California. If we find produce not listed, or out of season, or questionable, a violation is written and the county of origin inspects to verify. It’s a numbers gamble. A CFM vendor has 48 weeks to make more money and 4 weeks to throw the non certified products back in the truck before the inspector gets to his stall.
It’s business. It is also up to the market manager to enforce. Some do.
Get to know the vendor. Generally, owners and their families actually are the producers. If the salesperson lives in LA and the farm is in the central valley….what do you expect?

Vicki September 24, 2010 · 10:36 am

If there are two farms down the road from each other, I’m perfectly happy if one farmer sends a truck down to my Greenmarket with apples, pears, peaches, and plums from their orchards, and squash or cauliflower from the person a half-mile down the road. The point is that it’s local and cutting out layers of middlemen.

The problem isn’t that sort of cooperation: it’s broccoli from California instead of the Hudson Valley, or berries claimed to be from New Jersey that actually come from Florida.

Jenny September 24, 2010 · 10:45 am

Ideally, the market manager monitors all the vendors at their market. Larger organizations like Greenmarket can do this, and they do – they enforce their rules carefully. Those of us that run smaller markets in smaller communities have a much harder time, but it’s worth the effort – we make a promise to our customers that they’re buying local and we must keep it. Not all of them care, I think – some just come for the festive community atmosphere – but it’s up to us to push, even when the vendors (those who make prepared foods, especially) push back.
To commenter #2 – yes, prices are high, because our local farmers aren’t getting giant government subsidies to plant conventional mono-crops. If they can’t make a living, they won’t be able to stay in farming. And we all know what will happen then.
Do check out the Millerton Farmer’s Market – //www.neccmillerton.org/farmers.htm – the best market in Dutchess County if I do say so myself!

CDLESQ September 24, 2010 · 10:47 am

The other thing I worry about…(I don’t lose sleep, or stop shopping at farmers markets), but I do wonder if the scales are calibrated to show honest weights. A Turkish woman marvelled once that there was no central scale for shoppers to check the weights against the one provided by the merchant as she was accustomed to seeing in Istanbul. Interesting thought. It would be nice if the markets were better policed in terms of weights and measures and representations about the source and quality of produce.

FROM TPP — Really interesting!

MP September 24, 2010 · 10:53 am

Consumers need to ask questions, but they also need to learn what plants are in season at any given time. It far too hot to grow broccoli in Southern California in this time of year. It’s also a good idea to read the by-laws of the market(s) you frequent. My local market is run by a committee of vendors, everything must be produced within 50 miles of the market, and farms can only sell their own products.

Mimi Fix September 24, 2010 · 10:55 am

This happens in bakeries, too. I’ve been in the bakery business many years and my students have worked in a variety of established shops. When the manager or owner runs out of organic flour they simply substitute non-organic. Even bakeries that we respect for their integrity.

Mimi Fix

//bakingfix.com/thefix/

Jenny September 24, 2010 · 11:06 am

CDLESQ – the county weights and measures folks come out once a year to test and certify all our scales. As manager, I’m supposed to make sure all my vendors have up to date certifications. You might actually be amazed at how many rules and regulations we are subject to! (On the other hand, New York is much better tan Michigan, where they are only now, for the first time ever, allowing home-baked goods (as opposed to those baked in a certified commercial kitchen) we’ve been allowed to have them for a long time.

Star September 24, 2010 · 11:13 am

Oh, man–a fight over dishonest farmers..if they ARE farmers (darkly). What will the privileged classes think of next? Oh–don’t tell me. Let me be surprised.

FROM TPP — Not everyone who shops at a farmers’ market would be considered to be part of the privileged class. Now the federally funded WIC program allows low-income families to use the benefit at local farmers’ markets. Research shows that vouchers that permit low-income women to shop at a local farmers’ market increase fruit and vegetable consumption in poor families, as I reported in this Jan. 2008 story.

Cynthia Bailey MD September 24, 2010 · 11:13 am

As with ever good or service we purchase it’s ‘buyer beware’. When it comes to food, our nutrition, and thus our health is impacted. It is why I try to know the integrity of the business or person I’m buying from. In our large and busy world that’s hard. Knowing something about the market manager would simplify that task in places where you can’t know every vendor.

In my town, we have a very small farmers market and an active organic community so everyone really does know everyone else. They openly talk about reputations. It’s what I imagine life was like when communities were small enough to do that and one’s reputation meant acceptance.

I personally love the process of growing my own food. I know it’s nutrition rich and organic. I’m fortunate to have the space and the climate. My views on the subject were the content of one of my first blob posts //www.otbskincare.com/blog/diet-recommendations-for-healthy-skin/116/

Cynthia Bailey MD, Dermatologist

WashingtonDame September 24, 2010 · 11:35 am

There’s a small farmers market across the street from a Giant supermarket near where I live in DC. I once saw a vendor come out of the Giant with two bags full or tomatoes which he then placed on his stand at the farmers market and proceed to sell as his own local produce! I e-mailed the organization that runs that farmers market about this incident, but never heard back. Needless to say, I stopped buying anything there.

FROM TPP — Wow, I’m so shocked by this. Good story.

Lexington September 24, 2010 · 11:52 am

I’m not really a fan of this “talk to your vendor” “get to know your farmer” rhetoric.

I don’t go to the farmers market to “meet the neighbors” and chit-chat. It can already be a overcrowded chaos at the Union Square market as it stands during peek hours, it’s difficult enough to get in and out of there on a Saturday. Feel-good Slow Food ideology is nice and all but sorry, this is New York, and I’m a New Yorker.

I don’t have the time or desire to interrogate the seller about where the food comes from every single time I shop, nor do I expect that the seller wants to have the same conversation five thousand times a day. Besides, he or she could just lie anyway, or not inform the selling staff, since it is exactly those types of salesman that feel that it’s to bring suspect foods to the market.

It seems reasonable for the consumer to assume certain production values at farmer’s markets. If the farmer’s market management can’t keep on top of and adequately police their farmer’s practices, this is unfair to the consumers.

One thing that would be a start would be for each table to be issued a uniform information board in large readable type, regarding what exactly the practices of that particular vendor are.

———————————–
Union Square Farmers Market

Vendor ID#
Vendor Name
Vendor Location
Vendor Contact Information

Products Sold.
Product Sources.
Practices Used.

Other Important Info

Official Seal
Farmer’s Market Management Contact Info

———————————–

If this is already there, it’s not obvious. It’s a gesture of transparency to the consumer and adds legitimacy to the seller. This isn’t rocket science or particularly expensive or burdensome.

Diet-myths September 24, 2010 · 11:54 am

Wow but I guess its not too crazy since everyone is always looking for ways to cheat people and make money. Too bad that there really isn’t a way for the average person to test their produce at markets. If only we could grow our own stuff all the time!

//Www.diet-myths.com

Jenny September 24, 2010 · 12:01 pm

Agree with TPP about low-income shoppers – the farmers at our market double the value of the food stamps so the food is truly affordable. We take Farmers Market Nutrition Checks (for senior citizens), WIC checks (women and young children, and Food stamps, which are now an EBT card – they just swipe the card and go. Great system, works for everyone.

I do agree in a way, about privilege: it is a privilege to have access to this food and to support my local farms.

//www.neccmillerton.org/farmers.htm

Star September 24, 2010 · 12:14 pm

Research shows that vouchers that permit low-income women to shop at a local farmers’ market increase fruit and vegetable consumption in poor families, as I reported in this Jan. 2008 story.

Our market here in Chandler AZ is Thursday at 3–so only unemployed people can go…so you may be right. I stand corrected. By vouchers–you mean food stamps–or that card?

FROM TPP — For the answer see comment from reader Jenny

-NYbuyer September 24, 2010 · 12:41 pm

I am not surprised by this in the slightest. I have a local farmers market steps from my building that offers a variety of produce year round. After seeing some fruits that are labeled from Chile or Mexico (mostly berries in the fall and winter), I began asking the employees where the lettuce or broccoli was from, he was surprisingly candid and would admit that some of the items were not locally grown nor are they organic. I kick myself everytime for not just hauling butt to Whole Foods where at least I know certain foods are local, organic and or no pesticides, but during the summer there’s a plethora of locally grown foods so I still buy there because it is just so convenient.

Jenny September 24, 2010 · 1:42 pm

A good farmers market has a market manager’s table with literature about the principles and rules by which that market operates. I take the point of the person who doesn’t have the time to strike up a conversation with every vendor – some people like that personal relationship, others don’t care. But if you go to a market with certain expectations of what a Farmers Market is, take the time to make sure that particular market fits your expectations – there is a wide range of different approaches. Some things that can vary include: number of miles that’s considered “local,” can you bring your neighbor’s produce? Can you sell a certain percentage of purchased items? Can you sell crafts, or coffee, or chocolate, that aren’t grown locally but are processed locally? Does it have to be grown organically or chemical free? What percentage of ingredients of prepared foods must be local (grown by the baker? purchased from a local farmer?)
You can usually ask to see the rules of that particular market – then you know at least what is being promised to you. Greenmarket has extremely high and very specific standards; other markets do it differently.

We have asked our farmers to post something about their growing practices, as suggested in comment #15. Some do, some don’t but I like this format – maybe we’ll adopt it for next year! But all are willing to answer questions about what they do. (However bear in mind that there are a lot of terms that have vague definitions, and many farmers who use “clean” chemical-free growing practices are not certified organic.

Uproar September 24, 2010 · 2:14 pm

I go to the Farmer’s Market in Union Square in NYC. THey all claim to be from home-grown farms in Long Island or New Jersey. Yet many of the sellers seem to be Hispanic migrant workers who speak little English. It makes you wonder how “small” these farms really are, that they have such large hiring capabilities, and that they can pay someone to come and sell their stuff for them.

IlivenearMillerton September 24, 2010 · 2:26 pm

I find the Millerton Farm Market ridiculously expensive, with a very small variety of produce. I don’t understand the need to buy donuts and cookies, when I couldn’t find a single head of lettuce. I’ve been twice and I won’t go back. It looked like a bake sale.

Another farm market I go to does carry out-of-state produce (such as citrus products) but they are clearly marked as from Florida.

robert September 24, 2010 · 2:39 pm

This is all just another urban myth, perpertrated by yuppies who want to believe that farmer green lovingly prunes and picks each item of produce, then sits on his porch all afternoon spouting homilies. The reality is that farming is hard, dangerous work, and anything farmers can do to increase yield, they will do.

Just because the local stop and shop offers produce in quantity doesn’t mean it’s not healthy, and in fact, the volume that they sell at least insures freshness, as opposed to a local who needs to sell every last bit of produce, to turn a profit.

Small isn’t necessarily better.

MD,CA September 24, 2010 · 2:51 pm

We have numerous farmers’ markets here–one of the benefits to living in CA. As other posters have noted, it’s always buyer beware–it’s business, after all (do I really believe that the market’s fish guy is selling wild-caught Alaskan salmon at $4.99/lb?). Many malls and hospitals have farmers’ markets on various days and several parks and neighborhoods run their own weekend markets. There is the one in the tourist area which is full of $8/lb organic heirloom baby beets etc sold by young’uns who could have stepped out of a Hollister ad and the one in a working class neighborhood that is full of ethnically diverse vendors and products (and better pricing, frankly). While I find that most of the vendors are friendly and seem open about answering questions about sourcing and farming, regardless, I would rather support small business people even if the product isn’t always organic, than a giant organization such as Walmart or Whole Foods.

Jenny September 24, 2010 · 3:15 pm

At the risk of sounding defensive, we have vendors at MiIllerton (newer and smaller than some) whose prices compare to the local grocery store. We do have others with very high-end boutique prices. We are constantly searching for the right balance of vendors with the greatest variety of products and a range of price points. We’re only in our 4th year – I think we’re dong pretty well!

It’s fascinating to learn that there are people who are anti-Farmers Market – I guess whatever somebody is for, somebody else will be against!

I partially agree with Robert – farming is hard dangerous work. And just like in any other endeavor, there are farmers who will cut corners or take shortcuts. But the ones I know are doing this for love – nobody’s making any great profits at this, they’re just doing it because it’s their passion and the believe in the value it brings to a community.

Happily, a lot of people seem to like them – ours is more crowded every week – they come for the food, the music, the chance to meet farmers, the opportunity to see local teens working, and the festive atmosphere. Commenter 22, I hope you’ll come back – you might be surprised at the diversity this year!

//www.neccmillerton.org/farmers.htm