Is Farmers Market Lettuce Really Better Than Bagged Lettuce at the Supermarket?

One simple vegetable mainstay, but depending on where you get it, it takes two very different journeys

BY THE EDITORS OF MEN'S HEALTH, PHOTOGRAPHY BY THINKSTOCKJune 15, 2015

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You don't need us to convince you that buying your produce locally, rather than from a chain supermarket, is the way to go. But sometimes, it's just easier to drive to Trader Joe's or Whole Foods rather than wait till the weekend for a farmer's market. And really, how much difference can there be? 

Take something like lettuce. Sure, locally-grown will likely be fresher and tastier, but supermarket lettuce can't be all that bad, can it? It's not like it's been sitting in a warehouse in Mexico for two months.

It may not be quite that extreme, but the organic bundles from your farmers’ market and the bagged lettuce from your supermarket each take wildly different journeys to reach you, says Carolyn Dimitri, Ph.D., an associate professor of food studies at New York University.

Let's take a closer look at what's involved:

Supermarket Lettuce

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Step 1. Food Corporations
Large lettuce processors initiate contracts with private farms. These farms may be small-scale operations or larger industrial enterprises.

Step 2. Farms
Growers follow contract rules specifying when to seed, how much to water, and so on. The farmer, processor, or subcontractor harvests the crop.

Step 3. Processor
The harvested lettuce is picked up by a processor (also under contract) and brought to a facility where it’s washed, trimmed, and packaged.

Step 4. Trucks/Trains
The processor has the lettuce picked up, after which some form of cool-storage transport delivers the packaged lettuce to the supermarket.

Step 5. Supermarket
You buy your lettuce from the produce section and bring it home. By then, anywhere from three to seven days have gone by since it was harvested.

Buying week-old lettuce isn't the only naive mistake you're making. Check out You Don't Need That Much Water (and Other Healthy Habits You're Doing Wrong).

Farmers’ Market Lettuce

Step 1. Small Farm
The farmer grows the lettuce. If the farm is certified organic, the farmer must adhere to standards for soil quality, fertilizer use, and other variables.

Step 2. Car/Van
The farmer, or someone he or she hires, brings the lettuce to market. Transportation usually happens within a day or two of harvesting the lettuce.

Step 3. Market
You buy the lettuce from the stall. If you want, you can ask the seller specific questions about how it was grown. (Can’t do that at the supermarket.)