I mean, if one of those parasites or viral swarms end up inside me, KILL EM ALL!, but from an abstract observer's perspective, they're way cool. I mean, really, that's part of being a naturalist: Killing and Death and Survival. If you believe in some concept of "Mother Nature", you're fooling yourself. Nature is not particularly mothering. Nature is a ignorant blunt brute of a dude. Kind of like Schwarzenegger. Let's call it "The TermiNature" from now on...I mean, if you've heard about these things called hurricanes or if you've seen the awesome video of a baby water buffalo being mauled, (By a crocodile and a pack of lions SIMULTANEOUSLY- Awesome!), then there's no way you can come out on the other side thinking that Thoreau's vision of the woods was complete.
So, that's why I like to have a connection to my food. Its visceral and its real and it just makes it taste better. I come from a family of hunters and fishers and cultivators and gatherers. I, myself, find the hunting part boring which is why, as deer season approaches, I will probably be maintaining radio silence with my Dad and Brother(s) so I don't have to hear the endless strategy sessions. But I appreciate the concept. I would rather fish and gather and cultivate. To each his own. But everybody should have some connection to their food, rather than seeing your steak sterile and packaged in saran-wrap at the grocery store.
If that concept appeals, or especially if it turns you off, you should read this great book... The Scavenger's Guide to Haute Cuisine.
All this poses a small problem, living in the city. Our yard does not appear to be vegetable friendly without some serious tree trimming and I wouldn't trust anything I pulled out of Philadelphia's Schyukill River to be viable in a frying pan. So I joined Weaver's Way Co-Op.
Located in West Mt. Airy, a short drive from our house, Weaver's Way has a store that provides fresh locally grown produce, including stuff cultivated on the nearby farm. I'm going to work at the farm when I can so that the stuff I buy has a somewhat direct output from the work that I put in. The farm's blog/website is really fun with some great recipes and you should check it out. They're all about community and living locally. And we did some comparison shopping of the dairy and produce we got there. Almost everything was cheaper than at the local Acme down the street.
My issues come from all the other stuff Weaver's Way sells and the aura that I get when I go in there to shop. The Free-Range All-Organic Gluten-Free Soy-Based Sugar mocks me from the top shelf... (On Special this month for only $2.79!!!)
Everything about that product implies that food is not a part of nature.
It implies that food is about this crazy Health-Freak attitude trying to stave off death and never age and botox injections.
It implies that food is about Political Activism and fighting corporations and Republicans and big oil.
It implies that food is about Consumerism and wealth and endless choices and suburban shopping malls.
I live over in East Mt. Airy, the side where the demographic is older, less politically active, and poorer. And I wonder how many of my neighbors really have the time, inclination, or money to think about Free-Range All-Organic Gluten-Free Soy-Based Sugar.
I just want them (and me) to be able to eat a Real Tomato along side their box of Tuna Helper. But, if I, who have time, inclination, and money, am put off by all that the Sugar on the shelf implies, how much more are they likely to be put off?
I don't want my dinner ruined by all the meaning you're placing on my Tomato. Can't we just have a Tomato?
Disclaimer: It should be noted that The Speaker of the House, has friends and family who are Gluten Intolerant and Lactose Intolerant. In theory, my critique of the aforementioned sugar is not meant to be an entirely damning reflection on them.
(Although, one has to wonder whether the world didn't get along better when you just didn't eat foods that gave you diarrhea rather than trying to artificially fabricate some approximation thereof. I do believe in allergies. I just think that most of the world has spent the last ten centuries sucking it up and dealing with it.)
That said, the point is that the sugar makes the Co-op socially inaccessible to the folks who need good vegetables and dairy most. Plus, people who eat that shit by choice are dumb-asses.
