[getsmart-l] FARM FRESH OR FARM FAKE? Is the MARKET always right?

[John O'Gorman]

"He also cites markets in Gravenhurst, Huntsville, Bracebridge and Rosseau, which he says have been "hijacked" by resellers who have driven many real farmers out of business by undercutting their prices and offering a wider range of product than the smaller farmers can provide."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060826.MARKETS26/TPStory/?query=cecily
FARM FRESH OR FARM FAKE?
They may tout locally grown tomatoes and organic plums. But with varying standards at farmers' markets across the city and 'hucksters' flooding the stalls, some warn it's a case of buyer beware
CECILY ROSS POSTED ON 26/08/06 Globe and Mail

Every Wednesday morning, from May through September, stockbroker Raymond Brackstone goes shopping on his way to work. His route takes him through the weekly farmers' market in Nathan Phillips Square where he loads up on fresh fruits and vegetables that he and his wife share with elderly neighbours in the apartment building where they live.

This week he stopped to chat with Mary Corte, who works the booth run by Bohonos Farm near Beamsville, Ont. "These are excellent people," he said of the vendor, who this week was offering row upon row of peaches, plums, pears and raspberries, as well as a mouth-watering assortment of vegetables. "They don't stop by the [Ontario Food Terminal] on their way here."

"Yup, we grow all our own stuff," said Ms. Corte. "Our peaches are tree-ripened. You just try them." 

But not all the producers setting up shop under the long shadows of Toronto's office towers are as authentically local as Bohonos Farms claims to be. Directly across the square, the folks from Jack's Farm in Niagara-on-the-Lake presided over an even larger display of fruits and vegetables. Four burly young men were unloading boxes from the back of a truck. When questioned, one of them admitted that about 60 per cent of what they are selling -- mostly tomatoes, peaches, plums and pears -- had been purchased elsewhere. 

These vendors are what is known in farmers' market parlance as "resellers." And they are the bane of market aficionados such as Mr. Brackstone, who, according to consumer surveys, list "freshness" (produce that has been picked that morning or the day before) as the main reason they shop at farmers' markets. The same survey, commissioned by Farmers Markets Ontario, a market advocacy umbrella group, lists "supporting local growers" as the No. 2 factor.

Consumer interest in where food comes from is growing faster than a potato patch in July, but it's becoming difficult to tell the real producers from what Bob Chorney, the executive director of FMO, calls "the hucksters and peddlers who are muscling the real growers out."

"Produce has become big business in Ontario," says Mr. Chorney, noting that in the past 15 years the number of markets in the province has doubled to more than 120 venues. Sales for 2002, the most recent figure FMO has, totalled $596-million in 2002.

But as business grows, so do operators out to make a quick buck, says Mr. Chorney. 

He has made it a personal mission to crack down on resellers. "There is a hell of a lot of deceit out there, and we have to deal with this. I am on a rampage." 

Standards at the approximately 20 markets in the GTA vary widely, with some, like the weekly fair at Riverdale Farm, promising local produce, grown organically. Others require only that a certain percentage be locally produced, though the quotas are rarely enforced. 

Mr. Chorney, along with many vendors on the local scene, believes that reselling runs counter to the idea of what a farmers' market should be. Mark Ruzylo of Avening Organics, who sells organic produce in Creemore, understands that vendors want to offer enough produce to "excite the buyer," but says "people have to be aware that there are limitations to what you can grow in your area. We need to support the idea of what the land can produce."

Mr. Chorney is so determined to stamp out reselling he took out a full-page ad in the fall issue of The Grower magazine decrying the practice. 

In Toronto he identifies markets at Sherway Gardens and Square One as among the worst offenders. "At Square One," he says, "one guy occupies four strategically located stalls. He has about 25 tables that cover about 25 per cent of the market. And," he says, his voice rising in anger, "they don't grow a thing." 

He also cites markets in Gravenhurst, Huntsville, Bracebridge and Rosseau, which he says have been "hijacked" by resellers who have driven many real farmers out of business by undercutting their prices and offering a wider range of product than the smaller farmers can provide.

But not everyone on the scene agrees that reselling is a problem. 

"The problem is the FMO and its autocratic rules," Huntsville market chairman Lorne Kingston was quoted as saying in a recent article in Better Farming Magazine. "The growing season up here is too short for vendors to depend upon their own produce," said Mr. Kingston. To ensure a steady supply of local produce, the Huntsville market proposed a minimum 70-per-cent homegrown rule for its vendors, but Mr. Kingston claims that FMO insisted upon 100-per-cent compliance within three years or the market's membership in the group would be cancelled.

Richard Chomko, manager of the Village Market in Thornhill, says that for him reselling isn't a big deal, particularly if the resale efforts are aimed at bringing organically grown products to consumers. "A lot of important markets around Toronto are organic-based and this issue of resellers isn't as pressing," he says, citing one of his vendors as an example. "The only thing she makes herself is maple syrup. Everything else, she buys from organic producers in her area: organic chickens, eggs, vegetables. Another vendor from Picton is part of a co-op and he sells on behalf of them." 

As well, the Village Market, like many in Ontario, is a year-round venture. "During the off-season farmers have to supplement their own product if they are to continue coming to the market," he says.

Meanwhile, back at Nathan Phillips Square, many vendors admit to carrying some resale produce. Others, like the Bohonos proudly claim to grow everything they sell themselves. They don't complain about the resellers, confident that the superior quality of their own products will attract buyers. 

"Our fruit is tree-ripened," says Mary Corte. "Theirs," she points to the booth across the way, "aren't as good because they've been in cold storage for days."

The best defence for the consumer, says Mr. Chorney, is a few questions aimed at vendors. But as an extra measure, this fall FMO is introducing a signage program similar to that used in New York City's markets. Vendors whose farms have been inspected and certified by FMO will be identified by a sign on their market stalls displaying photographs of them and their farms under the banner "Proud to be a Farmer." Once the signs begin to go up, Mr. Chorney says cheaters will be exposed. 

In the meantime, market-goers will just have to trust their instincts. 

Raymond Brackstone is sticking with the Wednesday market at City Hall. He's been to some other markets in the city and he says, "I never had the feeling they were real farmers. The sellers were grumpy, the corn didn't come up to scratch. I never felt they were authentic."

"Here," he says surveying the sea of striped canopies and fresh produce that has taken over Nathan Phillips Square, "I know these are real farmers."

Maybe, maybe not.

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