Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Smarter? .......redux

Just now in the cafeteria lunch line at the hospital where I work:

visitor:  Succotash?   What is succotash?   I don't even know what that is!

me:   It's a mixture of corn and lima beans 

visitor:  Oh.  I thought it was some kind of vegetable.

me:  It is.  Corn.......and ......lima beans 

visitor:  Oh.  I meant a vegetable that grows on a plant or something.    

I had to walk away.........

Not kidding.  Verbatim.  Again, middle-aged, well-dressed woman.


Humor aside, WHEN did the American public become SO disconnected from their food supply?

It is heartening that many are waking up, and backyard gardens / urban farming are booming.  For most people though, they seem perfectly content to feed themselves and their children an increasingly narrow choice of chemical-laden, GMO foods that are shipped from who-knows-where.  AND they never consider those foods may not always be there, in any variety, at any time they want them.  (pale, hard 'fresh' tomatoes in winter? Ick)

3 comments:

  1. Oh boy, do I need to forward an email to you. From a Speak Up type column in California. You know, I may just post it to my blog instead.

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  2. That's an excellent question. A number of years ago, we were in an area drought, with predictions that it would raise food prices due to shortages. Our old timer next door neighbor (a fellow gardener) said a lady of his acquaintance wasn't going to have a garden that year because of the drought. She said she'd just buy at the grocery store because there was plenty of food there. He couldn't believe her disconnect between the ability to grow food and it's availability. It's scary how out of touch we've become as a people.

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