The Chicago Green Market is adding a level of transparency to their markets. Starting this month, vendors will show their farm names, where they are located and what certification process they currently have passed. As many of you know, there is a wide selection of programs besides the USDA organic label that farmers can use. The Beyond Organic movement is growing, and it is quite possible that market vendors are more likely than industrial sector farmers to look for alternatives to organic; they have the ability to tell their own story to their shoppers which reduces the need for the complicated long work to get the USDA label.
And here are two points of view from the article that bolster my theory:
“GCM farm forager Dave Rand notes that it’s incredibly difficult, for example, to grow organic peaches in the Midwest because of pest and climate challenges. So a peach grower might opt for Food Alliance certification, which requires integrated pest management strategies that minimize pesticide use but allow it when necessary.”
“Three Sisters farmer Tracey Vowell said that she prefers the Certified Naturally Grown program because inspections are carried out by fellow farmers rather than certification inspectors. She finds this process fosters community and best-practices sharing rather than just requiring farmers to fill out paperwork.”
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about.me
Darlene Wolnik
Community activist, public market consultant and writer
Working since the 1980s on social change issues while encouraging civic activity across North America. I live in the Gumbo Nation (New Orleans) and raised here some but mostly in Buckeye Nation (Cleveland). I provide support and consulting for localized food systems, especially farmers markets. Bicycling, clean water, pocketbook issues, true wealth generation, reanimating public spaces and direct action democracy are also within my focus. Have blogged for a decade, have published essays and non-fiction since 2001.
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Click here to read about sailing alone and anchoring together….
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