A Morning at the Farmer's Market

Photo by Peter Wendt on Unsplash

Riyad took another sip of coffee and then rubbed his eyes. It was far too early for him to be up, but Omar always coaxed him up at dawn on the weekend. It didn't feel fair, as he rarely had the chance to sleep in. But Omar insisted on getting there early.

The farmer's market was a tradition in their neighborhood. It was the place where all the local growers could sell their wares. There was a grocery store which often sourced their goods from these urban gardens, something Riyad pointed out several times.

"It's not the same," Omar insisted. "I want to be able to talk to the farmers directly. I want to get their expert thoughts."

Apparently people in grocery stores were not experts. Apparently they had no idea what lettuce was. Omar just rolled his eyes. No amount of argument could convince him.

And that's how Riyad found himself walking through the rows of booths at sunrise.

"Hey there," Omar greeted one of the merchants. A table of carrots stood between the two.

"My husband," Omar gestured in his direction. "His doctor says he has a slight vitamin D deficiency and I'm looking for something that can help with that."

"Sorry," the farmer apologized. "My carrots are fortified with extra calcium, but they don't have any vitamin D."

"That's too bad. My husband really likes steamed carrots and I was hoping…"

"Have you ever met Teddy? He also had a vitamin D deficiency and that's been his focus in what he's been planting."

"Oh, thank you. Come on Riyad."

Riyad trudged slowly behind, following along the blurry form in front. He took another sip of coffee. Drink and walk. That was all he could do. But slowly he could feel the caffeine kicking in. It had a good mild flavor. The beans were grown locally as well.

"Teddy!" Omar greeted the farmer like they were already old friends.

"Good morning!" Teddy responded cheerfully. Riyad groaned at their enthusiasm.

"Tell me about your vegetables. I heard that they are high in vitamin D."

"Yes, I took some existing DNA modules that were open source and tweaked their design to make them produce high amounts of vitamin D. It's got as much as salmon or mackerel. Do you want some carrots? Onions?"

"Yes to both! Oh, and do you have any brussel sprouts?"

Upon hearing that question asked aloud, Riyad tried to protest. All he could do was let out a low-pitched groan.

"He doesn't like sprouts," Omar explained.

"He'll like these. I got these from a farmer in the Pittsburgh area. They were spliced with garlic to draw out the allicin. Trust me."

"Go ahead and put them on the scale. A pound."

"Absolutely. I hope you let me know how they taste."

"Riyad, we also need to get some apples. Can you go ahead and get them."

Riyad groaned in affirmation and walked away. He took another sip of coffee, larger this time, and hoped that he could enunciate by the time he arrived at the shelves of apples at the other end of the market.