I'd really like for Beth Barrett to come down to our farm in San Diego so that after she sees all the wonderful things we actually grow in proper certified organic fashion, I may stuff 100 lbs of avocados and grapefruits up her ass and down her throat. Then, perhaps, may we be free from the filling of absolute nonsense she administers. There are more than a dozen growers in the Santa Monica Farmer's Market who, apparently unbeknownst to Beth and her loyal following of jaded and gullible city folk, actually do sell directly to Whole Foods. Every single one of these farms takes pride in the fact that they do indeed grow everything they sell, and they take tremendous care in producing very good quality fruits, vegetables, legumes etc. Take Weiser Farms for example. They do a large number of farmer's markets every week and grow wonderful produce, and also manage to supply most of Whole Foods' Southern California stores with their potatoes and other root veggies. If you want to speak to someone who actually has a bit of faith in, and knowledge of California farming, I suggest you speak to Don Nishiguchi. He spearheads Whole Foods' effort to buy as much local produce as possible, particularly from standout farms at our local farmer's markets. Mr. Nishiguchi personally visits every farm that they consider buying from to make sure everything is accurate and up to snuff. Yes there may be a few "farmers" such as Jimmy Williams that most certainly do not grow anything other than a bit of Kentucky Blue Grass in their back yard. But don't let one or two bad seeds, or a snake-tongued journalist, ruin the reputation of all the farmers in our region who do such an excellent job and who we are very lucky to have here in the first place. We are blessed with a bounty of crops of every variety, let us not act like spoiled brats but rather appreciate what is so readily available and affordable and delicious.
