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Every restaurant window and sidewalk sign declares their local menu. You can't order just a pastry, you have to order a local pastry. Omelets are made with local eggs. And who knew hazelnuts were grown in such abundance around Portland? There wasn't much to be found without some reference to hazelnuts in it...good thing I don't have a nut allergy and I happen to like hazelnuts. At the farmer's market there was even a company promoting their prosciutto ham claiming they fed the pigs hazelnuts (as opposed to acorns like they do in Italy, which by the way I have no firsthand knowledge of, only what the brochure and local farmer told me) to give it a unique and LOCAL flavor. Are you kidding me?! I tasted it and it was good, then again I've never tasted bad prosciutto, but I just couldn't pick up the hazelnut flavor. Turns out I don't have a very refined palette.
If there was one word I would use to sum up the entire culture and feel of Portland, that word is L-O-C-A-L. If you'd like a bit over the top, but comedic reflection of this starring SNL alums then you must watch this clip from the sketch comedy show, Portlandia.
I can just imagine little Portlandians on the playground at school screaming at each other "My Mom is more local than your Mom!" as they munch on hazelnuts and a sandwich with bean sprouts that were no doubt grown on their kitchen counter.
The local theme doesn't just apply to food and agriculture. Everything from clothes to souvenirs had some sort of local angle. It's like being local is a pre-requisite to any product marketing launch. Don't get me wrong, I love to support local businesses here at home and when I travel. I just don't care for it to be demanded of me and I don't feel like I have to be boastful any time I support something local.
The farmer's market was a local food buyers paradise. I'd bet there were at least 200 vendors hocking locally grown flowers, herbs and vegetables. There were homemade dessert offerings, eggs, grass-fed meat and a plethora of goat cheese mongers. Oh and smoked salmon...one can't visit the northwest and not have local smoked salmon. Most of these farms were small scale and I don't remember very many claiming they were larger than 20 acres (clearly, very rich and fertile acres!).
Not that size matters, but I just couldn't help but wonder: Is this what the food buying public thinks agriculture should be- small and local? My answer- yes, they probably do think that. Is this the type of agrarian system that can sustain the food demands of a world population that is 7 billion and growing? My answer- absolutely not. So how can we bridge the gap of what people at the farmer's market in Portland and countless other farmer's markets in cities across our nation think agriculture is or should be? And is this the profile of the future farmer in our country? My answer- yes, to some degree, but only as a small percentage of the total number of farmers and ranchers in our nation. There has to be a way to incorporate these first generation small scale, self-proclaimed "local" farmers into the larger realm of agriculture. {But then again, aren't all farmers "local" to wherever they live and farm?} This country is going to elect leaders that make decisions that impact agriculture whose only point of reference will be the local farmer's market. This is of great concern to me.
Okay, I'll end the rambling now and say I love local things, especially food, and especially when traveling. And I wholeheartedly believe local farmers and ranchers in all corners of this great nation, regardless of their size, what they are growing or their marketing methods, contribute greatly to their community and local economy. Now, if I could only get that yard fence finished around here so I could get my chickens back. There's a farmer's market with buyers that want to pay a premium for my local, free-range, semi-organic eggs.
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