Comments on: Farmers Market Urged to Enforce Rules

By: Geena

Geena — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 13:42:32 +0000

Farmers Markets have become far too expensive. They gouge for the fad factor. The entire Organic industry sould be looked at a for price fixing. Once an avid farmers market buyer..now I never even think of it because I refuse to support their gouging. A friend was a volunteer for one season and she reported the infighting and sabotage (not Ann Arbors)between vendors was intense.

By: wordtothewise

wordtothewise — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 06:26:18 +0000

william, it’s just as easy to “slip produce one didn’t grow into some they did grow. It was mentioned in the observer a few years back. Donahee farms found his melons being sold by other market vendors. these vendors purchased them from eastern market where Donahee sells alot of their produce. Management never did look into the situation.

By: Luis Vazquez

Luis Vazquez — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 01:29:35 +0000

Actually, the only thing I agreed with Mr Thompson during this meeting was not about so-called organic certification, but about the need for government bodies like the Market Commission or its sub-committees to maintain transparency and to clearly notify the public about meetings so that the public can participate. The minutes for Market Commission meetings are posted so far after the meetings that one may not know for certain when a sub-committee meeting is/was held, or be able to look at minutes for those sub-committee meetings.

Furthermore, if the Market Management is so unwilling to enforce its rules in regards to producer-only, as in the case of Kapnick’s Orchards baked goods, then how are we to trust anything being sold there? I agree with word-to-the-wise, get to know your vendors, and visit them to see just how they “produce” what you purchase at the market. No poisons on food! We have a right to know so we can make an educated choice!

By: wordtothewise

wordtothewise — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 07:43:47 +0000

IMHO the USDA has their priorites backwards. Those who use chemicals and are killing off our planet should be threatened with fines,and made to use a label that says nonorganic or “chemically farmed foods”.
Farmers that have long been growing organically for our community, are family run small scale farms, and operate well above the standards of the NOP.
As one farmer puts it “I wouldn’t certify their (USDA) standards. Hardly a month passes when they don’t try further to erode the standards. Their whole system seems to cater to agribusiness at the expense of us farmer-philosophers who founded the movement.I would prefer to disassociate myself from the USDA and their diminishing standards. Selling locally to people you know is far better than certification.”

“If you are transparent in how you grow your produce and livestock through a combination of small farm tours, local participation and education, newsletters, and the internet (blogs and websites), then the need to label your stuff organic is not needed.
You are the LOCAL source of good healthy food, organic is irrelevant.
You could also label your products as: “Just as tasty and healthy as organic without all the government interference”. :)

get to know your farmer and their farming practices,visit thier farm.. the one’s I like are the one’s that grow soil!!healthy clean non poisonous soil.

By: William Kanitz

William Kanitz — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 23:03:27 +0000

False certification of organic is a problem along with vendors that slip in non-organic produce and food products from commerical farming. If city hall wants verified organic products they can require the vendors to produce ScoringAg records that were gathered in real time along with proof of farm practices. Soon all produce will need real locally produced records to have traceback to the field of origin as per the Food Safety bills in Congress.

By: Glenn Thompson

Glenn Thompson — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:06:33 +0000

The majority of the vendors at the farmers market that advertise as organic are certified organic producers. A list of the vendors that I have verified as certified organic producers is on ArborMarket.blogspot.com

It is clearly an economic advantage for a vendor to claim their product is organic. That is why these vendors have gone to the trouble and expense of the certification process. Unfortunately there are a few vendors that claim their product is organic when it could not legally be packaged and sold as organic. This undermines the trust of the Market.

By: mr dairy

mr dairy — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:48:50 +0000

Please don’t forget that the Farmers Market is managed by City Hall.

Who at the city is in charge of managing the Farmers Market?

Who let this situation get this far out of hand?

It’s not Jeff Straw, even though his statement about what “produced” means is typical bureaucratic double speak obfuscation.

The Market has a dark side because of City Hall laissez faire mismanagement by clueless bureaucrats.

By: Anne Laurance

Anne Laurance — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 13:22:43 +0000

The AA Framers’ Market is a place I have enjoyed since first coming to Ann Arbor in 1970. Our (extended) family meets there each Saturday morning for breakfast at Zingerman’s, shopping at the market and planning our meals for the following week. I agree that any rules agreed upon need to be enforced but the priority, to me, is the atmosphere of trust that is so much a part of shopping with confidence.

Anne Laurance