It’s all well and good to champion local and artisanal foods and it is fantastic to see the groundswell behind these products, but somewhere along the way these local producers need to accept some responsability for standards. How do consumers judge such products? Is it by sampling a wide variety of similar craftsmade products, or by comparing to known commercial, industrial likenesses?

Elsewhere I have postulated about how marketing & location effect the Farmer/Consumer experience. I’ve also written about how Farmers & Consumers can communicate in a broader forum. But over on the Serious Eats blog a great discussion about Artisanal products, Quality and Standards is taking place.  Author of the post, Ed Levine, tells of a disappointing experience buying foods at a farmers’ market–not the first I’ve heard for sure.

I bought an insanely expensive half pound of bacon from a bearded dude who had the kind of sign up I can never resist: “World’s Best Bacon.” I plunked down my $12, feeling good that I was supporting a pig farmer who treated the pigs and his land right.

A woman came by the stand and said, “It’s good, but it’s really salty.” The bearded pig farmer responded, “Oh, yeah, if it’s too salty just soak the bacon in warm water before you cook it.”

That should have been the warning sign I needed, but instead I moved on to the next stand at the market, owned by a fruit and vegetable farmer I have known for years. I bought some of his mom’s low-sugar raspberry peach preserves after a lengthy discussion with him about the quality of his mom’s jams. . . .

. . . I brought home the jam and the bacon figuring I would use them to make breakfast for my wife, Vicky, the next day. But the next morning, my hopes and dreams for a delicious breakfast were dashed when I tasted the jam—yuck. And the bacon—even yuckier. How could this be?

The bacon-seller had a beard, worn-in jeans, and a sign that said “World’s Best Bacon.” He was lying, or maybe he just didn’t know any better. Or maybe he just didn’t know what delicious was.

Maybe my farmer friend didn’t want to acknowledge how bad his mom’s jam was. Or again, maybe he just didn’t know. Actually, I went back this past weekend and he told me the jam I despised was made by someone other than his mother. Now he tells me.

Maybe the bearded bacon man didn’t know that his bacon was inedibly salty and cut so poorly it could never cook up properly.

A realization then hit me like a ton of organic broccoli—the food revolution may be upon us (and it may even be televised), but sometimes handmade, artisanal food is so bad it makes you appreciate not only the truly great artisanal food makers but also the Smuckers and Oscar Mayers of the world. The even more compelling question: Are serious eaters down with eating bad food if it’s made by hand by someone with the best intentions?

You really need to go and read the full piece. But this is enough to make my point. In the comments below the post, a great debate rages from all sides. But one thing I thought missing was a solution–other than the one Ed suggests. So, of course, I weighed in:

You’re all pointing out something wonderful about local, artisanal foods–they are unique, they are different as night & day from one another, and although they can be good, bad or ugly, they are “self-regulating”.

If you get a hairy, nipple covered, salty slab of bacon you don’t like, will you buy from that producer again? Probably not. He has just lost a sale. If enough people stop buying from him, he will dry up and blow away. Or…Perhaps you should provide him feed-back. As a consumer, help him become a better producer. Take it as an opportunity to explain why you didn’t like the food he was producing. If he’s smart he will take it on the chin, adapt and try to do a better job at producing a quality product and providing what the market will buy.

There are going to be some bumps and ruts on the road to local, sustainable, quality foods. Too long we have been lulled into a palate deadening wasteland. We are going to have to re-learn to cook foods which our grandparents knew how to prepare instinctively. Producers are going to have to experiment and learn what works, what doesn’t and to rediscover how to make excellent artisanal foods–which once upon a time were standard fare.

And producers–give your customers a feedback form. Offer free samples & tasters. Open yourselves up to criticism. Ask you customers to help you be better. Learn from other producers. Have tasting competitions amongst one another. Earn the right to sell you Mother’s Jam recipe or “the Best bacon in the world” Do this, or you will find your products marginalized, your sales figures weak and you farm broken. A free market, a self-regulating local system means the best get better and they get the business while the rest loose money or earn nothing at all. Don’t give up. Strive to be better! And if someone does have a complaint, if your product falls short of your sales pitch, your standards or reputation, offer to replace it, exchange for something else or give them their money back.

Not only do we need to Vote for better food with our Stomachs, and Eat Locally, but we need to offer our views, experiences, and tastes to those we seek to help us in our quest. We need to engage proucers, farmers and other consumers in a larger dialogue. A dialogue, which hopefully, Social Media can help us expediate. So don’t be affraid to comment on producers’ blogs, engage them through Twitter, or leave them a note at their farmstand. Be positive, helpful and solution oriented in your criticisms and everyone will benefit.

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