What's New at Southside Farmers Market

These Markets are moving as of this weekend (Sunday the 7th of Nov. The will be held on Irvine st in Phillip.

check out more details on their website:

http://www.southsidefarmersmarket.com.au

These markets are like every other outlet, there are good deals and some not so good deals. well worth getting there early

Addison said :

I loathe the stinky beatniks you see at markets – give me a nice comfy national supermarket chain any day.

Strange comment…but alright – vote 1 for Richard Nixon! Those damn beatniks. They are ruining the 1960s.

There are a lot of complex issues involved in ethical food choices. Organic, carbon miles, nutritional value, fair trade, Australian made, environmentally responsible packaging… it’s not possible to make everyone happy with a single food choice. The best way to do it is work out your highest priorities and meet those first.

Every time you pay for something, you are making a choice. I do my best to be aware of the choice I’m making – am I supporting something that fits with my ethics, or am I reinforcing a system that I’m not happy with?

These South Side markets generally suck. Some stuff is reasonable other stuff way overpriced. Give me the Fyshwick markets anyday.

I loathe the stinky beatniks you see at markets – give me a nice comfy national supermarket chain any day.

Southside farmer’s market is in the old Woden Valley High building, which was then a CIT – near the hospital.

It is smaller than the EPIC markets, but also easier to get around – like EPIC was when it started off.

It is all very well to scoff at food miles, but do you really do those other calculations about fertilisers used in paraguay or whatever when you stand in woolies buying fruit and veg?

Food miles on seasonal produce is one possible way of making an ethical choice.

And shopping at these markets is a way of encouraging diversity in our food, instead of supporting the homogenization of multi-nationals.

Skidbladnir said :

@EMD:
Reducing carbon output to “food miles” is misguided environmental fantasy at best, and protectionism acting under a false flag of environmentalism at worst.

Food miles needs tip-to-tail auditing before you can trust it.

Here is my audit trail:

I look at, smell, touch, and taste the garlics in the supermarket that are imported from China or the USA. I look at, smell, touch, and taste the garlics at the farmers market which are locally grown. There is no comparison between the two.

The locally grown product wins hands down in terms of taste and texture, as well as the psychological benefit of wondering how the supermarket garlic becomes so white and lasts so long. The local product is more expensive, but it’s a price I am prepared to pay.

I can do an audit of fruit bread and lamb if you like?!

For Skidbladnir
Its fine to be sceptical of the extremes of food miles especially if its regulated and made to happen (protectionism). But it is worthwhile to use it as a factor in making an informed decision when its grown seasonally and locally.

Generally the reason why farmers markets are set up and why people go to them, is because the food you’re getting there is usually seasonal and local (or regional).
Trash n Treasure at Jamo is great for this on a Sunday morning.

If something requires no feed supplement to grow in New Zealand…

Except we’re talking about driving apples from bloody Batlow up the road to Canberra, not hauling hogget from Hurunui to Harrods.

Why do people feel the need to take these things to absurd conclusions? “A wide range of other clear benefits dismissed out of hand, tuppence worth of Guernsey beef produced thirteen rods from Wellington at an altitude of fifteen and a third furlongs generates one eleventh of the noxious ethereals as two try ounces of Cornish Angleforkish dry aged for a fortnight on a full moon near Little Wanking. In conclusion, buy Portuguese cod.” I suspect it’s so they can discredit what is, on the whole and as a general rule, a good idea, just because it doesn’t suit their preferences. They’re the same people who burn baby seal fat in their Hummers because “China’s only going to make things worse, so why bother?”