Food For Thought ! An excerpt from "PLENTY: Digressions on Food" by Gay Bilson, published by Penguin Lantern, RRP$ 49.95 Available 1 November 2004

'The jubilant popularity of farmers' markets surely points to active, if inarticulate, agreement about connection with produce by large groups of people, although this popularity has been partly hijacked and turned into the weekend hobby of 'culinary tourism.'

In the developed world we are troubled by the inchoate ideas about what we risk when eating and whom and what we might trust. Farmers' markets are not inherently trustworthy, but the intimacy of the exchange creates a more trustworthy relationship, as does the useful celebration of locality, for farmers' markets make real sense only if they serve a local area and are used by those who live close to them for a basis for seasonal dishes. It is harder to look one's neighbour in the eye and lie about produce you are growing and selling and expecting her to eat when the neighbour is physically close enough to seek the truth and also to spread the word.'