Grant Robertson, a senior official with the National Farmers Union-Ontario, weighs in with a plea for reclaiming "farmers markets" in Canada for Canadian farmers. He doesn't mention the move afoot in Toronto to promote new farmers markets that are for farmers only, but he's no doubt supportive.
Robertson has gotten an earful from angry consumers:
"As the Ontario Coordinator of the NFU, I have fielded a number of calls, emails and community event discussions with consumers who feel ripped off. They attend some of these markets because they want to buy directly from farmers so they know their food purchases are directed to the people who grew or raised their food, not to others in the food system who have doubled and tripled and then doubled again their retail price over the last number of years while still paying farmers 1970 prices. When these consumers find out many, some, most (it depends on the location) of the supposed farmers' market vendors at a few of these markets are not producers at all they feel cheated and sceptical of all vendors in all markets. Truth is, the closest some of these re-sellers get to a farm is passing farm laneways on their drive to the food terminal.
"It is time for government to step in and act....It seems it is now time to enshrine in law the term 'farmers' market'. If you want to use that term you should have to have the overwhelming majority of your vendors be primary food producers –- farmers...."
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