This shit really bugs
me...this blowback on the "local food movement". This argument is
precisely the point that of the whole thing. Food should be about more
than corporate profits, supermarket hours, crop yields, convenience and
disease resistance. We can all probably admit that food can be made
cheaper. That common, industrialized plants and animals are hardier and
easier to ship. That large, one stop Supermarkets are the cheapest and
most efficient ways to buy food. But food needs to be about more than
that. There needs to be an element of adventure and diversity to what
we eat. That having a farmer down the road that makes a decent living
is a good thing. I don't think anybody expects that all of this
"modern" stuff is going to completely disappear. It just needs some
balance.
On Sunday, we went out and picked some blackberries. And as I look back on it, I've realized how stupid these actions were.
First of all, two people spending one hour to pick a couple of pounds of
blackberries? In wages alone those berries are probably worth 30-40
dollars per pound.
Add in the fuel burned on our drive there, in both cost and CO2 pumped
into the atmosphere and the cost/benefit is really turning sour.
And that was before I factored in wear-and-tear on clothing, food costs
for blackberry picking energy, the potential health care costs in the
event of an injury...it goes on-and-on.
Yes, next time I will avoid such frivolous sourcing of blackberries and
rely solely on Globex Brand blackberries - the berry to beat!
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