Farmers’ markets have figuratively replaced the town square,
something we have lost over the last decades due to sprawl and
urbanization. In many communities around the country, farmers’
markets are where we chat with neighbors, make new connections
and find out about the issues at play in our communities.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, there
are 7864 farmers’ markets operating today — a 348% increase
since 1994. Clearly they are providing value to the American
public. The pace of modern American life is such that we want —
maybe even need — to boil complex issues down to essential
truths. Yet isolating a few specific factors and extrapolating
solely from these to proclaim that local food is not eco-
friendly, or not a viable solution, is irresponsible. This is
not to say that measuring a single issue like carbon emissions
as it relates to food production and transportation is not
important; it is vitally important. But, there are many more
factors at play — some very tangible, some