Markets evolve based on what the consumer wants. In the case of our food supply, that means an easy to obtain, inexpensive, reliable product, straight from the Earl Butz era, a central location, where we can purchase safe, inexpensive food.

But what did we trade in the process? One thing is we gave up the right to know the where – why – and how’s about our food supply, and for some we are just fine with that. Sometimes if we don’t know the whole story, especially in the meat processing area, we’re OK with that. But knowing the answers to those questions makes us a more educated consumer and also a healthier one.

In order to obtain the huge food supplies needed to fill the food chain, the agriculture industry needed to become more mechanized, get bigger and become specialized, and mainly focus on quantity, even if that means giving up quality. It is the direction we are going because of our growth in population, here and worldwide. Granted it has opened us up to a global market where we can have strawberries in January or tomatoes anytime of year. But it has also dulled us into thinking preservative ingredients are OK and natural, and sprayed on products are good if it makes something look fresh, or feedlots, and all their issues, are the only way we can supply the enormous amounts of meat that we need. It has evolved for a reason it is not the fault of the farmer or the consumer, it is what it is.

In this area we are still fairly close to the farm. Meaning you only have to go one or two generations before your back to the farm, Maybe you’re still on the farm, but in many other parts of our country the consumer is farther from the farm, four to three generations, when you get out that far out, it doesn’t come as natural to know the basics of your foods origins, but there are alternatives and one is a farmers market, a place where we can purchase local fresh products.

The local farmers market has many vendors growing and selling all your produce as well as meat, eggs, baked goods and many other items.

There is a lot to be said about eating local produce the main advantage is that it is fresh, usually picked the same day, or in the case of the beef and pork, raised here locally. For those of you that have already been to the market and purchased the fresh produce like new baby potatoes or the new sweet corn know what I’m talking about.

The vendors search for the right varieties to offer the best tasting product, and some will have many varieties to choose from to offer to a wide range of tastes. The meat vendors use the best genetics (breeds) to raise top producing pork, beef and elk. And have processed at the proper age.

One of the advantages the consumer has when they purchase there products from a farmers market vendor is they can ask questions about the what- why- where – of the products. All vendors are professionals and can answer questions that you might have. Questions like what pesticides where used and when, what was fed to the animals, and how they where raised, etc. It brings the consumer closer to the source of where there food comes from, and makes them more knowledgeable of what they’re eating.

Eating healthy and fresh, locally raised food also brings a story to the dinner table, being able to say where it came from or what breed was involved to make just the right meat, kind of like a hunter about to sit down to a meal from his last hunt, it’s the story behind it.