Jacqi Munoz
Ivy Tech Community College
Abstract
I will be writing a comparative analysis based on two different articles that are about local farmers’ markets and whether they help or hinder the environment and community. I will be writing this for my English 111 class taught by Professor Johnson as well as for my peers. Local farmers’ markets have become a growing genre within the food culture and provide us with a specific type of food that is hard to find in a grocery store. The purpose of my writing will be to inform you of the different viewpoints on farmers’ markets. I believe that hearing two sides of every story will help to make your decision be more informed as to shopping locally or not. It is also apparent within these two different viewpoints, that there is a class of people who shop solely at farmers’ markets, and a class of people whom could greatly benefit the farmers’ market culture.
In the articles “Eat local organic food if you like, but don’t kid yourself that it’s ‘green’” by James Dellingpole (2010) and “Social justice deficits in the local food movement: local food and low-income realities” by Ellen Smirl (2011), there are two different viewpoints on local farmers’ markets. The authors both describe their opinions about this topic, giving factual evidence, as well as their own thoughts and feelings. Dellingpole and Smirl both agree on the fact that there seems to be a more specific type of person who shops at local farmers’ markets. But they differ in their opinion when it comes to whether farmers’ markets are a benefit or a hindrance on the environment and community.
Dellingpole (2010) uses the argument that the only type of people who shop at local farmers’ markets are those who think they are greatly reducing their carbon footprint. “…They are lowering their carbon footprint. They are living ‘sustainably’. They are boosting the local economy.” (J.Dellingpole, 2010, para. 3). His opinions is that these