Why Farmers Markets

I always recommend those who can afford it, frequent farmers markets and this is for many good reasons:

1) Most of the produce is locally grown or sourced and has few if any food miles on it.
2) Most people can speak directly to the growers and establish real facts about how their food was produced, reared, or sourced.
3) Legitimate growers will spend time conversing with customers and explaining their processes and the logic behind them.
4) Most food producers will source many other ingredients locally and support the local economy.
5) In many cases you can visit their premises and either buy directly from them or have them deliver so you can judge their consistency.
6) In many cases most foods will be organically grown, reared, and not force fed to grow crops quicker of fatten beasts quicker.

So, what other reasons are there to shop at farmers markets if you can afford it:

How many people realise that traditional varieties of ALL crops are being decimated and not grown because they are being replaced by different varieties of crops which thrive on a chemical fed environment and either grow quicker or have improveed yields and can often be grown on most types of ground conditions using cheap labour anywhere in the world and as many crops are developed for cold storage shipping and are shipped thousands of miles unnecessarily.
How many people realise the UK lost over 300 traditional species of apples varieties in 1 year alone due the EU favouring European species and giving financial incentives to grow them instead of traditional UK varieties and basically wiping them out; meanwhile many other crops are being wiped out in favour of bland tasting crops grown for shipping around the globe and many are the ripen at home crops such as plums and strawberries which are basically bullets and only good for cannons firing buck shot and certainly not eating.

By keeping your money local you help your local economy and as many food growers and producers rely upon farmers markets for their survival you are directly supporting those businesses and not those other people trying to take a slice of the pie for little to nothing. In many instances you may find foods you never thought to try and as many producers have tastings you can try before you buy and this is mainly with misconceptions about foods such as goats cheese having a funny taste when the taste comes down to the milk used and the processes followed.
You may find some local honey sourced from land around your property and know those bees providing you with honey may well de the same bees pollinating plants and crops in your garden to give you food and flowers in the garden and you can often be part of the chain which encompasses the circle of life.