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What's more ironic than local, organic, seasonal food encased in plastic? That's what I wondered back in 2007 when I first started my quest to eliminate unnecessary plastic from my life. A trip to my local farmers market revealed more than just fruits and vegetables. Have a look at a few photos I shot:
A Google Search revealed that I was not alone in my frustration with plastic at a local farmers market. When I stumbled upon BlogHer CE Green LA Girl's post, A Plastic-Encased Farmers' Market, I knew I'd found a kindred spirit.
So what's wrong with plastic packaging anyway? In addition to creating waste that is not biodegradable and lasts in the environment virtually forever and harming wildlife, plastic packaging contains chemical additives that can leach into our foods and cause health problems. In fact, in its recent downloadable PDF Smart Guide to Hormones in the Food System, the IATP includes not only hormones we can ingest through hormone-fed meat and pesticide-sprayed crops, but synthetic hormones in plastic food packaging. According to the Guide,
...ever-strengthening science links exposure to many individual hormone disruptors—pesticides, Teflon chemicals, plasticizers and food contaminants—with these common or rising chronic conditions,3 including:
- Breast and prostate cancer4, 5, 6, 7
- Thyroid disease8, 9, 10
- Obesity and diabetes11, 12, 13, 14, 15
- Endometriosis,16 uterine fibroids17 and infertility18, 19
- Immune-related disease, such as asthma or allergies20, 21
Thankfully, there's a new trend happening in the Bay Area and other parts of the country:
Plastic-Free Farmers Markets
Many of the folks here in the Bay Area are conscientious about bringing their own canvas tote bags. The problem is that they then proceed to fill up their canvas totes with multiple plastic produce bags and plastic containers.
Until now, bringing our own cloth produce bags (or skip putting larger items into separate bags in the first place) has been completely voluntary. Now, three local farmers markets have banned plastic bags, and in some cases, other plastic packaging.
- April 25, 2009: Berkeley Farmers’ Markets First in Nation to Eliminate Plastic Bags & Packaging
- May 6, 2009: Plastic Bag-Free Fairfax Farmers Market Opens
- May 23, 2009: Ferry Plaza Farmers Market Goes Plastic Bag Free
I paid a visit to the Berkeley Farmers Market to see how it was going, and also chatted briefly with Ben Feldman, Berkeley’s farmers market program manager. Here are a few useful things I learned:
The Berkeley Farmers Market provides corn-based compostable BioBags instead of plastic. In Berkeley, compostable bags are actually picked up curbside and composted. Still, recognizing that corn-based bags are not a perfect substitute, the Berkeley vendors charge .25 per compostable bag in order to encourage customers to bring their own reusable bags.
To encourage shoppers to reuse bags instead of taking new ones, Berkeley has always had a used bag bin at the entrance to the market where folks can drop off old bags or take bags if they forget their own.
And while most of the vendors have gone completely plastic-free…
