Hollywood Farmers Market - Assignment Example

Hollywood Farmers Market I carried out a survey at the Hollywood farmers market, a certified market that gets its products directly from farmers. The consumers are able to find fresh food and other handmade packed products. The market is located in Southern California alongside other certified farmers markets. There are a number of stalls that display unique types of produce sold by the vendors in the market (Clark, 1). I realized a number of factors on the products that were being sold and this will form the basis of discussion in this paper. I noticed that the produce are clearly marked and can be classified into non-organic, certified organic, unofficial organic and no spray produce. The market also provides resources and information about organic farming and foods; this gives consumer’s knowledge on decision making on whether to purchase organic or non-organic foods. A number of certified organic products in the market had the USDA logo, and they were clearly classified and arranged in different stalls from the rest of organic products which enabled the customers to choose wisely. Enquiring on regulations, I found out that some of the farmers and vendors who had a gross turnover of 5000 were exempted from the certification process but they faced regulations and inspections by the government. In the market organic produce included a number of fruits, oranges, tomatoes, mangoes and vegetables which included spinach, kales and herbs. There were also some free range chickens, with some natural eggs which were certified organic produce. Some of non-organic products included vegetables, herbs and fruits that were produced using genetically engineered seeds, chemicals, radiations, chemically based fertilizers and pesticides. I got a unique experience from the live chickens in the nooks and crannies of the store display counters (Clark, 1). I figured out that it was great fun carrying out open air shopping and having meals in the restaurants around the farmers market. A number of un-official products like omega XL a natural supplement, natural wine CSA and other minerals like Fulvic ionic were present in the market. After enquiring from one of the vendors, I realized that there are 100% organic product which contained certified contents. Examples of such products included fruits, vegetables, milk, orange, juice, cheese, eggs, chicken and beef. Upon talking to a number of farmers and vendors, it came to my realization that a number of farmers in Hollywood market have complied with a number of organic restrictions but they have not taken or given any certification with some arguing that the cost of getting the certification is high and if one is acquired the burden can be passed to the consumers. After walking around the market, I interviewed some farmers and vendors regarding their products, their farming methods and the justification for using the methods that they do. On the methods that are used to produce particular vegetables which are mainly organic, majority of their responses was that the vegetables were purely grown using manure through compost or droppings from a number of animals. Most of the people I interviewed said that they used artificial fertilizers. They further said that the vegetables were exposed to harsh environment and were not covered or housed in any greenhouse. They also used natural ways of preventing pests such as mixing farming with plants like pyrethrum which repel pests away. The farmers also gave me some perceptions that are used in organic farming, majority of their fields are planted with grains such as corns, oats, soya beans, wheat and cover crops so as to build soil fertility. Other farmers outlined the guidelines used to get organic certification in their farms, which included a number of aspects like land requirements, pesticides used, seed selected and growing practices (Clark, 1). On their farming methods the farmers argued that some conventional methods are used to raise cattle where they are fed with diets rich in grains, this promotes a faster growth so that they can be marketed quickly. Farmers referred to this as ‘marble beef’. There were variations with regard to fiber content; naturally raised cattle have higher fiber content in their meet compared to conventional raised cattle. A number of farmer’s responses showed that they were adopting organic farming by using natural methods to maximize products, for example, keeping cattle on their preferred grass fed diet and also allowing the chickens to roam around or free range. They told me that a number of certified organic meats, beefs or fish in the farmers market come from animals that were fed with organic foods. The reason why the farmers were doing so, producing poor organic products that were naturally grown and raised was because the current market demand had prompted them to start growing natural crops, which is attributed to their healthy dietary content. Others argued that natural organic products are sweeter and have a natural taste compared to the artificial ones. Another reason was that the mode of planting is cheaper and does not require much expense. One vendor said that non-organic products get quick returns on capital invested and that the conventional methods are suitable, this included artificial seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and use of growth hormones. He said that this makes crops to grow quickly hence they are able to produce more for local markets and export some to foreign markets. I did spot checks on a sample of the products to establish whether there were some residue of pesticides or other chemicals used in the growth of some of the produce. However, I found this method not to be effective since I did not get the required findings. Chemical test foils on organic products was effective in a number of products like tomatoes, apples and other vegetables like broccoli and beets. I did this through the use of nitrogen isotope ratios and came to conclusions by identifying the spectrometry nitrogen isotope ration of samples of organic and non-organic products. The results were varied and gave out a distinctive difference between the two types of products. For the organic produce it showed a higher N15 to N14 compared to those that were conventionally grown. This method of testing was more suitable for testing tomatoes for it brought clear results and made clear distinctions between the two types of agricultural grown products (Clark, 1). Another test that I carried out was on the taste of the organic and non-organic products. I sampled similar products from the two groups and ate them to identify their tastes. The results revealed significant differences, apples and oranges that were organic in nature tasted sweeter and softer compared to those that were grown conventionally. I used the isotope 18 0 versus 160 to test the presence of nitrates in vegetables and other green produce. The study established that non-organic products gave out a huge trace of metal concentrates while organic products showed a lower level of nitrates (Clark, 1). However, this was not true with non-organic products from Northern America which showed a double ratio of perchlorate more than organic products. Some of the farmers I worked with admitted that non-organic foods were also contaminated with sewage sludge called bio-solids; this resulted from the farming practice of using human wastes to improve the condition of soil From the survey I realized that crops that were naturally grown without any kind of artificial pesticides, herbicides or growth command a larger number of premium price or value in the market. The survey also established that majority of the consumers are concerned about their health and would like to purchase and consume healthier products. Therefore, they put more emphasis on the consumption of organic grown agricultural products; this is seen from the number of purchases done in the Hollywood farmers market. My study on a number of restaurants showed that people are aware of the advantages of organic foods, in that respect they were on the forefront in supporting organic techniques and suitable organic farming methods. Thus, a number of sustainable methods such as crop rotation and natural enrichment of the soil were used (Clark, 1). After the study, I realized that organic fraud is currently taking place in a number of markets, where non-organic grown products are passed as organic and consumers buy them unknowingly. A mitigation process should be created where agricultural certification and inspection programs need to be carried out in the fields rather than at the market level. In the second case, food standard authorities need to come up with some other well established tests that can be used to distinguish this type of products. The available methods are depended on the type of products, for example the nitrogen method is not suitable for testing produces like carrots. Work Cited Clark, James. The Hollywood farmers market and other certified partners markets of Southern California. Retrieved on 8th may 2012 from http://www.farmernet.com/ Read More