Farmers Markets World-wide pledge

Monday, 24 August 2009 11:43

Farmers' market leaders from Australia, New Zealand, the USA and Great Britain meeting at the 3rdNational Australian Farmers' Market Conference in Victoria this week, pledged today to establish and uphold standards for farmers' markets and to create a platform for the exchange of information and best practice that will support the global, sustainable development of the farmers' market movement. From left: Rita Exner, Chris Fortune, Miranda Sharp, Gareth Jones, Darlene Wolnick, Sophie McNeill, Richard McCarthy The group will initiate an open forum and invites local food producers, market organisers and supporters to participate in positive exchanges that will help to improve local economies and communities through farmers' markets, and provide greater access to locally produced food for all.   FARMA's Gareth Jones was among the speakers at the conference. Others included Richard McCarthy from Crescent City farmers' market in New Orleans, USA, whose experiences with Hurricane Katrina four years ago mirrored those of the population around Melbourne during 'Black Saturday's' forest fires last summer. The organisers and speakers at the event took the opportunity to formalise future relations with a communique highlighting the urgent need for a rebalancing and relocalising of food around the globe in the interests of reducing carbon emissions and improving diet, livelihoods and the environment.