The Farmers Market

Farmers Market or Farmers Markup. Don't get me wrong, I am a fan of any venture which wrestles the consumer from the grasps of the mega supermarkets and provides an outlet for the ugly vegetables, the ones covered in their native soil and resembling parts of celebrities but I have some problems with the overall presentation and concept of such events. I have not yet identified an actual farmer or farming type as stallholder or exhibitor so by definition the Farmers Market brand is being misrepresented. A bit like Uncle Ben who had an allergic reaction to rice or Aunt Bessie whose batter based products were always a bit of a dampener at sunday lunchtimes. The local event is very cosmopolitan. Yorkshire, Lancashire and Italy are all represented on food stalls  with the emphasis on low fat and low cholestrol meats including ostrich burgers and wild boar steaks with both species evidently  running rampant through these parts based on the number of proprietors offering such fare. The presence of a fishmonger is confusing to me also the now ubiquitous £4 per cup cake purveyor. Harvest of the sea just about qualifies for a stand but not an overpriced, over-iced bun in a fancy wrapper?. True to the ethos of a Farmers Market are the stalls selling staples of bacon, sausage, black pudding, pies and pale looking steaks and cuts. We are so conditioned to shrink wrap, vacuum wrap and highly packaged foodstuffs that seeing meat in particular in a real raw state can be a bit disturbing. It's funny that a polythene 'bag for life' dripping with blood from a leaking pack of supermarket meat is not acceptable yet the same through a crumpled paper bag from a Farmers Market is expected and indeed demanded. Did I say the staples, well, there are half a dozen varieties of bacon of different curing and flavouring, sausages with apple, leak, mustard and even non-pork, black pudding of a vegetarian nature, very fancy huntsman, woodsman, stockman and new man pies and bits of animal that the supermarket discard or sell to pet food companies. My favourite stall is the home baking one although again the amount of stock and variety of stock would mean a very early start indeed to the day for the home bakers or full production at a large factory just outside Manchester. I do not stay too long at the market but I do contribute to the rural based or themed economy by purchasing a lemon drizzle cake for £1.95 (Spar Shop £1.45), a ciabatta loaf for £1.70 (Netto's 99p) and an ostrich burger in a bun with onions for £3. (Not available through main retailers). Still, I have had some time out amongst like minded market supporters in a large tarmac surfaced car park next to the Ring Road but I wonder where all the real farmers are.