Page 259 - How to Be a Conscious Eater - Making Food Choices That Are Good for You

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FARM-TO-TABLE:

THEY’RE NOT ALL HUCKSTERS

hen I first saw an exposé in the Tampa Bay Times in
2016 uncovering lies and cheating in the farm-to-
Wtable business, my heart sank. A rigorous investigation
finally proved what many had speculated and others had prob-
ably feared but tried to dismiss—that often the local, artisanal,
farm-fresh promises touted by quaint restaurants were empty
ones: “local” farms that were actually far, far away, or listing a
fishmonger on a restaurant’s sourcing chalkboard who’s never
heard of the place. After this scandal about higher-end restau-
rants, investigations of fast food chains with similar rosily
spun stories unearthed much of the same.
The writer of the series of articles, Laura Reiley, summed
up the conundrum: “Most restaurants buy food from one of a
small handful of distributors who source products in bulk at the
best price from around the world [e.g., Sysco and US Foods] . . .
Most restaurants do not have the time or wherewithal to deal
directly with farmers and producers; most farmers and pro-
ducers don’t have the infrastructure to do their own sales,
marketing, and delivery. So the storytelling begins.”
Therein lies the problem: We so badly want the new wave to
be here now. And yet the day-to-day reality of turning a bear of
a food system on its head is a Sisyphean task.
On the bright side, many restaurants do what they say
they do: establish sourcing relationships with farmers in their
region. These afford you, the diner, with not just connection to
place but often greater variety, freshness, and flavor.

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