Rough Draft Captions for Presentation

In 2007 Mother Earth News conducted an egg testing project. They compared the nutritional information from an official U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutrient for commercial eggs and compared them to the eggs from hens raised on a free range pasture. Free range eggs had:1/3 less cholesterol, 1/4 less saturated fat, 2/3 more vitamin A, 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids, 3 times more vitamin E, 7 times more beta caroten. Free range eggs come from chickens that are able to move freely on a pasture or are housed in moveable pens that are rotated frequently to maximize access to fresh pasture and protect the birds from predators.

Extra Large, Free Range Eggs from the farmers market- $2.75
Egg-Land's Large Cage Free Organic Brown Eggs from Wegmans- $3.79




The company’s line of products is available at local grocery stores and community co-ops throughout New York State. The company’s cheese is made the old-fashioned way. Nothing is mass-produced, and everything is hand-cut. The cheese is made locally made in Heuvelton, New York and although it is not an organic product it is all natural. The difference between organic and natural is quite significant although many people do not know the differences.Organic foods are grown without the use of conventional pesticides, artificial fertilizers, human waste, or sewage sludge. They were processed without ionizing radiation or food additives. In regards to meat and animal products it means that they were raised without the routine use of antibiotics and without the use of growth hormones. Organic produce can not be genetically modified. Natural foods have a lot less standards to meet. Basically a “natural food” is a food that is minimally processed. Natural foods do not include ingredients such as refined sugars, refined flours, milled grains, hydrogenated oils, sweeteners, food colors, or flavorings.

Cheese bought from Wegmans-
Jarlsberg Semi Soft Part-Skim Milk Cheese-one pound- $6.99
Wegmans Cheese, Buttery Brie, Medium- one pound- $10.99
Wegmans Italian Classics Pecorino Romano –one pound- $9.99
Or Farmers Market Cheese selling for $2.75 a block or 2 blocks for $5, any assortment combination.

Annotated Biblio.

Norberg-Hodge, Helena, Todd Merrifield, and Steven Gorelick. Bringing the Food Economy Home: Local Alternatives to Global Agribusiness. Bloomfield: Kumarian Press Inc., 2002.
This book will be quite helpful to my group while compiling our research about farmers market because it explores many different aspects of the global food systems and how it compares to locally grown produce and other foods. Food chemicals versus organically grown foods are discussed as well as how farmers markets can keep money and jobs in a community’s local economy. There is an entire section in the book about how farmer’s markets relate to the economy which is perfect for my section of the project since that is my primary focus. Corporate-owned factory farms are causing the local food market to struggle tremendously. The only way farmers have been able to survive is by capitalizing on staying small and staying local. It is important for some people to know where their food is coming from and form a relationship with the person who is providing them with food. These types of people keep local farmer’s markets alive. The book explains that CSAs and farmers’ markets don’t have a middle man and this is why they are able to keep costs low. This information conflicts with other research that has stated that farmers’ markets are actually more expensive but I actually believe what the book says is more accurate. Not only can the farmers sell their produce for less but they actually make more of a profit. The book explores how supporting CSAs and farmers’ markets keep more money in communities and keeps citizens more healthy which is an other important aspect of our over all topic.

Individual Proposal

The site our group will be researching is Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and local farmer’s markets. The more specific site I will be concentrating on is the price points of the locally grown produce. I want to research who is at the Syracuse farmer’s market and why exactly they choose to shop there. Some research has found that in some cases, farmer’s markets are actually cheaper then grocery stores. I am hoping to find out if that is the case in the Syracuse area. Additionally, I want to compare the price points from local grocery stores to the farmer’s market. I could possibly compare Wegmans and P&C to the market and see who actually is cheaper. I would like see if people from lower incomes come to the farmer’s market for a particular reason, or for specific items. I would like to ask how coming to the farmer’s market/grocery store helps particular individuals save money. On the other side of the equation, I would like to ask those who don’t mind spending more at the farmer’s market, (if that’s the case) why it doesn’t bother them. It is important to examine economic status, jobs and values, to make this section of my group’s study complete and concise. This information will come from in-person interviews, e-mail interviews in addition to research others have complied.

I think a lot of people go to places like price chopper because of the marketing. They are led to believe that farmers markets are more expensive even though in some cases they are actually cheaper. On both sides of the equation there are some good points to consider. Farmers markets don’t offer weekly clippings or sales, grocery stores do. Grocery stores often have a larger variety of fruits but are less fresh because they must be shipped from farther away. Thus, farmer’s market produce tends to stay fresh longer. I also found that it really depends on which farmer’s market you go to. Some are actually quite cheep while others, have extremely high prices, for the same exact crop. If shoppers are educated about which farmer’s markets have the best produce, at the cheapest price they can actually save money on their weekly supply of crops. Farmer’s markets seam to have the reputation of being overly expensive, but this just does not seam to be the case all the time.



This chart argues that it is actually cheaper to buy from a farmers market for certain products



This video argues that farmers markets vary in price from very cheap, to way over priced for the same product.

The theme of sustainability was prominent throughout all the websites Billy provided to our group. According to The Washington State Department of Ecology sustainability means "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." This is Ecology's working definition of sustainability. Our society today seams to totally disregards the idea of sustainability. The process of over consumption occurs so often that it is now viewed by the vast majority of people as both normalized as civilized. Many don’t seam to think twice about how they aid to the destruction of the environment on a daily basis. There is little that can be done single handedly to solve this immense problem, but on a very individual and local level people are doing things that both help them environment and protect them from some of the negative side effects our poor behavior has caused to the environment. One thing that people have been doing to maintain a better treatment of our environment farm animals is buying community supported agriculture (CSA). Farmers that grow products for CSA supported farm stands preserve the highest environmental quality and soil health. CSA is not about producing the cheapest food, but rather about growing food with care of the environment in mind. CSA products are sold both at farm stands and via the internet. For example on LocalHarvest.org you can order a “3 Month Butcher Block” for $230. The customer will receive about 15lbs of farm-fresh, grass-fed meats made up of ground beef, pork and lamb cuts and two loaves fresh baked bread made from scratch, right from the farm. The animals are raised with out the use of drugs, antibiotics, hormones, and steroids. CSAs are one of the great ways we can support sustainability of our environment.

"We help the environment by consuming less"
"We help the environment by consuming lots of environmentally safe products"