Thoughts from the Farmer’s Market: Consumption vs Production
I indulged in one of my favorite Alabama activities today: the Pepper Place Market.
My love of farmers markets and street fairs has waxed stronger and stronger over the past several years. I enjoy shopping local; it is empowering to know that more of my money is going directly into the pockets of farmers, artisans, and craftsmen. I realized while wandering the stalls this morning that my true appreciation for these individuals comes from the fact that they are producers, and it is so much more difficult to produce than it is to consume. (duh, but bear with me…)
Restarting my blogging hobby has placed the idea of production vs consumption foremost on my mind. Medium especially encourages this given how it’s model rewards bloggers (producers) for interacting (consuming) with the content of others. I have always fancied myself a producer, but I am learning just how difficult that can be.
That difficulty must come primarily from how much production costs. Successful producers, from bloggers and YouTubers to metalworkers and farmers, can only call themselves such because of how much they have invested in their trade, and the main currency of that investment is time. The rows of watermelons sitting under Tent A represent weeks of that farmer’s time. The arrangements of wooden furniture under Tent B? Days of labor for that craftsmen, not to mention the months or years spent apprenticing to the trade.
Time. Lots of it. And that time equates to physical, mental, and emotional energy. Lots of it. I cannot speak for everyone, but this is the obstacle that keeps me from being a producer. It should also be a catalyst for consuming well.
In consumption we partake in the fruits of someone else’s labor. We enjoy and benefit from time and energy expended by others. If that time and energy is precious, then we have a duty to apply at least a modicum of care and prudence to our decisions about what (and how) we consume. This idea is not new; movements around shopping local and/or fair trade abound. While I have subscriped to those movements years, the true value of consuming well did not fully click to me until I realized how much time and effort is required to be even a lowly hobbyist of a producer myself.
So I purchased several veggies directly from a farmer and a few pastries from a baker, but the foremost item that I brought home today was a question: How can I consume well? A bit of food for thought to accompany the food for the body.
