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California Cracks Down on Farmers Market Cheaters

• dajohnson89 12y ago
  In defense of the "cheaters", they are providing a benefit to consumers: produce at wholesale price. I have no problem with this form of cheating, as long as it's clearly marked as non-local. The only downside is increased competition for local farmers, who have it hard enough as it is.
• webnrrd2k 12y ago
  I have a friend who runs a fairly large produce distribution business. According to him it is not uncommon for sellers to simply change the label to "organic" on regular (non-organic) produce. This gives them an easy mark-up and more profit. Also they tend to market the ugliest produce that they wouldn't be able to sell elsewhere as "organic", so the quality tends to be lower, too. I know it's not scientific, and I can't give any actual numbers, but I trust his opinion.
• jinushaun 12y ago
  This is a huge problem at farmers markets. I see vendors break down wholesale (super market) boxes in plain sight and put them in "rustic farmers marketish" baskets. Usually the produce come from outside the US too. Best way to avoid this scam is to buy seasonal. Or focus on produce you can't get at a regular super market. That said, I don't blame the vendors because most consumers have come to expect a diverse range of produce year round and have no concept of seasonality—even "savvy" farmers market consumers.