As summer kicks into high gear, we here at SAVEUR are more grateful than ever for farmers (in case you missed it, we devoted our entire summer issue to the people who grow the world's food). This time of year, we're always making a beeline to our favorite stalls at New York City's greenmarkets (especially since we've had varying levels of success with our backyard gardens). While we love comparing notes on the coolest summer produce, we also realize that for a grower supplying a town or state or country with food, it's intense, high-pressure work.
Our country's farming families struggle in the face of falling prices, climate change, international competition, an immigrant labor crisis, and the out-of-touch standards of mainstream grocery stores, which let much of our fresh produce go to waste. Those who rise to the challenges each day—some championing worker rights and responsible farming practices as they go—deserve our applause and support. This week we honor the growers of high-quality beer hops in California, fiery chiles in Brazil, superlative grapes for wine in the Canary Islands, and even edible snails in Austria.
