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{{Workflow
|Plaintiff verdict=No
|Stage=Settled
|Filed by=User:Frank
|Case ID=Aff0jf3dj0af6jj6cd0j
|Lie=Farm-to-Table is Beneficial
|Topic=Marketing lie
|Accusation=CNN recently featured this headline: "Eat farm-to(-your-kitchen)-table because it’s good for you and the earth." “Farm-to-table” – a term that implies food--in America, at least--that is locally sourced and purchased by a restaurant or for your own kitchen table directly from a farmer or producer, has been trending, and its related cuisine has become increasingly popular among foodies who appreciate seasonal fare as well as those concerned with the health of the environment and the local economy.  “It’s essentially a way of eating based around food that has been grown and harvested in a sustainable way,” said Kristy Del Coro, a registered dietitian and culinary nutritionist. The term is also used to describe the movement that promotes this way of eating. Farmers' Market shopping is a mainstay of the practice.

While this seems to be on its face an obviously true statement, the truth is more nuanced.  Yes, it's good to eat healthy food.  But is farm-to-table mostly a marketing gimmick designed to make us feel good about an elitist practice?

One of the supposed positive benefits to farm-to-table is that food sourced this way is more flavorful and more nutritious. Yes, produce and other foods that have been picked ripe and haven't been shipped thousands of miles probably do have a somewhat better flavor. But as for being more nutritious, even CNN's article admits that this claim hasn’t been scientifically proven. Yes, it would seem that these types of foods might be more nutritious, but the fact is, we just don't know.

Another F-to-T claim is that the practice is more sustainable and better for the environment.  I've been to farms that actually supply my local farmer's market, and I can tell you point blank that a good number of them (if not most) are water and fertilizer intensive and mimic agribusiness mega-farms, only on a smaller scale.  To be sure, the distances that the crops are shipped is much less, so there is a substantial benefit in that regard. So it the practice better for the environment? Well, yes, but perhaps only marginally.

F-toT is also seen as a way to democratize food consumption by bringing better foods to everyone. This is most likely not true.  Farmers' Market food is much more expensive than its grocery-store counterparts. F-toT customers tend to be upscale whites, so in this regard F-toT is an elitist practice.

Finally, F-toT is claimed to benefit the local economy by supporting local agriculture.  I suppose this is true, since by definition a local farmer is part of the local economy. But how much of the money that we spend at the farmers' market stays in the local economy?  Farmers are buying mostly the same products and services as everyone else, and almost none of these are in any sense of the word "local."
|Locations=https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/02/health/farm-to-table-food-drayer
|Markup=<span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: bold; background-color: rgb(0, 101, 153);">Eat farm-to(-your-kitchen)-table </span><b>because it’s good for you and the earth.</b>
|uuid=46d9c1f0-9b97-449c-92f5-4b71f299527e
|Random judge=done
|Judge=User:Rht5
|Juror amount=5
|Random juror=done
|Jurors=User:Bas, User:Justin
}}