There’s no place I’m more liable to splurge than at the Saturday farmer’s market. So healthy! So fresh! Organic and local! Buying corn and squash supports the livelihoods of farmers I can see and speak with. It’s a splurge, but not a selfish one. One could even argue it’s my moral obligation. In our age of free shipping and global supply chains, cheap-labor sweatshops and a fast-warming climate, it’s important to be a good consumer. Not good as in savvy, clipping coupons. Not good as in profligate, stimulating the economy. But good as in ethical. It’s also tasteful, and classy, and of course, “aesthetic.” 

The farmer’s market trumps the faraway factory. Always. Or does it?

Try to feed a lot of people, and you’ll quickly see the other side.