Farmers Markets Need Farmers

As an indication of how well the local food movement is doing, the Boston Globe today has an interesting article on how farmers' markets are having difficulty finding enough farmers. This helps explain why we see things like local bakeries, coffee companies, and Taza Chocolate vendors at the markets - they help fill out the available space as well as offering a nice variety of goods to shoppers.

Farmers are also making a lot more of their profit from farmers' markets, which is extremely cool. But clearly, there's a pressing need for more local farms in Massachusetts. Anyone care to start a farm?

Locavore Activism: Oppose Factory Farming

The Food and Water Watch is asking people to sign a petition asking the USDA to stop offering guaranteed loans to new pork and poultry factory farms. The petition reads, in part:

USDA is currently guaranteeing loans to new production facilities, which contribute to over-supply in an already saturated marketplace. At the same time, USDA is using taxpayer dollars for bonus pork and poultry buys in order to stabilize prices resulting from overproduction. (On March 31st, USDA committed to a $25 million bonus pork buy, and in May the industry asked for an additional $50 million pork buy.)

They argue that this is an irresponsible use of taxpayer dollars. I would also argue that factory farms cost taxpayers even more by damaging the environment. More relevant to this blog, this USDA policy makes it difficult for small, local, more sustainable and ecologically responsible farms to compete against big factory farms.