Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

I don't care where my food comes from -- and neither should you.
UPI ^ | September 26, 2002 | Ronald Bailey

Posted on 09/29/2002 6:09:37 PM PDT by gcruse

The Reason Foundation

LOS ANGELES -- I don't care where my food comes from -- and neither should you.

By Ronald Bailey

"People should know where their food comes from," an organic farmer from Montana declared at a conference on agriculture and the environment I attended this past weekend, sponsored by the Political Economy Research Center. This notion is increasingly popular among political environmentalists. It is usually a shorthand way to express opposition to genetically enhanced crops and to convey approval for their organic equivalents.

From a nutritional and ecological point of view, the idea is bunk.

First, a bit of background. It is not at all surprising that most Americans think that chickens come plastic-wrapped without bones, that milk pours from gallon jugs, or that fresh fruit can be picked year around. After all, less than two percent of the country lives on farms today.

But when I was growing up in the 1960s I knew exactly where at least 90 percent of the food I ate came from: my family's crops. Every tomato, bean, squash, cucumber, pea, potato, ear of corn, turnip, mustard green, carrot, and cabbage I ate came from our huge garden. We picked wild blackberries and grew gallons of strawberries. We had cherry, apple, peach, walnut, and European chestnut trees. We canned nearly everything and had a root cellar. Our honey came from more than 20 beehives.

As for meat, we raised and slaughtered all the beef, pork, chicken, goat, lamb, and turkey we ate. Our milk came from our dairy herd, and we spent many hours churning butter. The domesticated meat was occasionally supplemented with squirrel, groundhog, opossum, and mud turtle. Although I didn't much care for them, our fish consisted of crappies and catfish taken from the farm ponds.

My father's standing orders for butchering the beef was to make as many steaks as possible and turn everything else into hamburger. The meat was wrapped in waxed butcher paper and stored in giant freezer chests. We had a smokehouse in which we salted our own hams. I even knew the names of the cows and pigs we ate. You can't know much more about where your food comes from than that.

It is precisely this personal food history that makes me cherish modern grocery stores and restaurants. American grocers can choose what they offer their customers from among more than 320,000 different packaged foods. As a kid, it was an enormous treat to go to the local Piggly Wiggly to buy tasty exotic prepackaged items like hot dogs, spaghetti, and Velveeta. (Incidentally, it was Piggly Wiggly that invented the novel concept that customers should be allowed to roam a store's aisles and pick out their own groceries.) And the proliferation of fine restaurants in the last two decades has been amazing.

Which brings me back to the absurd assertion that everybody should know where his or her food comes from. I knew where my food came from because it took my family a huge percentage of our time just to do the mind-numbing and back-breaking labor of raising it. Of course, we sold our surplus cows, milk, and wool for money so that we could buy incidentals like clothing, medicines, books, refrigerators, televisions, tractors, trucks, and cars. And no one hectored us about knowing where those items came from.

One of the great glories of modern life is the enormous elaboration of the division of labor and how the efficiencies gained from that division makes people much wealthier than they could otherwise be. Since we all don't have to stitch our own clothes, bake our own bread, compound our own medicines, or even cook our own meals, we are all much better off. This is why as a society we can afford to have economic niches like pet dentists and manufacturers of elastomolds for pastry chefs who specialize in baking madeleines.

And why should they care? Food today is cheap, nutritious, and safe. The last century has seen a vast improvement in food quality and safety. In millennia past, food and water were the chief sources of many deadly diseases. Consider that as recently as 1933-35, a U.S Public Health Service survey found that 5,458 children between the ages of 1 and 15 died from diarrhea and enteritis, most caused by food-borne pathogens.

By contrast, a recent survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control found that just 29 Americans died of food-borne illnesses between 1993 and 1997. Meanwhile, stomach cancer rates are down by 75 percent since 1950 because old-fashioned food preservation techniques like salting, pickling, and smoking have been replaced by refrigeration.

That doesn't mean people are or should be prevented from learning about where their food comes from, if that's the way they want to spend their time. Among life's greatest pleasures are fine dining and food connoisseurship. The expanding division of labor and our growing technological prowess is nurturing more and more differentiation among foods, permitting the creation and appreciation of thousands of wines, cheeses, chocolates, coffees, teas, and so forth.

I might prefer parmigiano-reggiano versus your inexplicable fondness for boursin. Or I might think that Rombauer Napa Valley Zinfandel is nectar and sniff at that swill from Australia that you quaff. Today, you can choose "slow food" (though it has some unsavory ideological baggage) over fast food, or choose both when that suits you.

Nor is there anything wrong with waking up on Saturday mornings to rush out to the local farmers market. I, too, cannot resist organic heirloom tomatoes. I buy organic not because such foods are ecologically or nutritionally superior -- they aren't -- but simply because the local lady who grows the Brandywines, Mortgage Lifters, and Yellow Pears I crave chooses that method of production. I'm glad she grows them, not least because that means that I don't have to anymore.

For those who are deluded enough to think that organic foods are nutritionally superior, the market makes the opportunity to buy them widely available, generally at a 30-percent price premium. (Ideologically motivated organic aficionados should keep in mind that organic production typically yields a third less food than other means. That means that more land is being plowed down, leaving less for forests and other wildlands.)

But there is something wrong with the puritanical notion that it's a sin to live in blithe ignorance of the ultimate sources of your nourishment. Life is too short for most people to learn how to fix their computers and cars, and too short for most to learn about food production. And that's just fine. Eating shouldn't be a moral duty; it should be a pleasure.

(Ronald Bailey, Reason's science correspondent, is the editor of "Global Warming and Other Eco Myths" and "Earth Report 2000: Revisiting the True State of the Planet.")

Copyright © 2002 United Press International
 


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: farms; food; gulla
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 161-162 next last

1 posted on 09/29/2002 6:09:37 PM PDT by gcruse
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: gcruse
As long as I don't have to eat recycled food.
2 posted on 09/29/2002 6:12:55 PM PDT by hispanarepublicana
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: gcruse
This comes from the Reason Foundation? The author sounds like a flat earther.

We already have too many people in America who don't know where anything comes from. They turn on the faucet and get water, plug in a lamp and get light, and have no appreciation of what lies behind these things.

As for food, fresh grown and local grown is certainly tastier and healthier than stuff that was picked when it wasn't ripe yet and shipped across the country.

If you've tasted fresh eggs or free-range chickens, you wouldn't want to eat the other stuff unless you have to. A lot of people have no choice, but even in the city you don't have to buy Tyson chickens or Velveeta. Ugh.
3 posted on 09/29/2002 6:15:50 PM PDT by Cicero
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: gcruse
Cool.

Let me sell this guy some mushrooms I've got growing in my backyard since tropical storm Isadora went through this week. I mean, since he doesn't care and all. I'll only charge him $3.99 per pound.

4 posted on 09/29/2002 6:16:08 PM PDT by fone
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Cicero
>>>Tyson chickens<<<

To my knowledge, I've not purchased a Tyson product since 1993/94 when I found out he was a FOB.

5 posted on 09/29/2002 6:17:26 PM PDT by fone
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

Win one for the Gipper! God Bless You Reagan, We Will Never Forget Your Great Service and Leadership - We here on FR will carry on your great work with diligence. Thanks for the Memories and Inspiration!

Donate here by secure server

Or mail checks to
FreeRepublic , LLC
PO BOX 9771
FRESNO, CA 93794

6 posted on 09/29/2002 6:19:06 PM PDT by terilyn
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: fone
Yep. Same here.
7 posted on 09/29/2002 6:26:24 PM PDT by DoughtyOne
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: gcruse
I don't like the idea of importing much of our food. Some is fine. But there's no way I want to turn our food supply into the next oil cartel type product we're going to get blackmailed over by some third world suicidal maniacs.
8 posted on 09/29/2002 6:27:55 PM PDT by DoughtyOne
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: fone
If it's a Tyson product, no matter how tempting, I pass it by. So does Mom.
We boycott all Tyson products.

I always want to know where MY food comes from. See above.

9 posted on 09/29/2002 6:29:42 PM PDT by petuniasevan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: DoughtyOne
ditto
10 posted on 09/29/2002 6:30:08 PM PDT by hispanarepublicana
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: petuniasevan; DoughtyOne
The problem with Tyson is not only do we know WHERE it comes from, we know the conditions under which it was processed. THAT's scary, no matter which side of the political aisle you're on.

Ever read about how his chicken farms destroyed rivers from fecal matter choking the oxygen from the water? Disgusting!

11 posted on 09/29/2002 6:34:52 PM PDT by fone
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: fone
I've heard of it. And what urks me is that enviro-whackjobs loved Clinton, who facilitated Tyson's avoidance of complying with Arkansas regulations.
12 posted on 09/29/2002 6:37:11 PM PDT by DoughtyOne
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: petuniasevan
It doesn't hurt to know as much as possible about where you're food comes from. I'm not a real picky eater,but i do prefer locally grown stuff over stuff trucked clear across the country. I have a real distain for "food nazis" that try and impose their value system on others though,the ones who try and guilt others into eating vegetarian,etc. Food should be something we enjoy,lifes too short to have it otherwise. I try to keep my consumption of pre-packaged foods to a minimum.
13 posted on 09/29/2002 6:49:47 PM PDT by Rocksalt
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: DoughtyOne
A few years back, I recall hearing Pat Choate discussing the incredible *luck* (economically) that Tyson products had over Perdue.

10-12 or so years ago, both companies had basically the same fiscal profile, yet Tyson grew/expanded far beyond Perdue. Given the fact both had (relatively) the same capital investment and growth opportunity, it is incredible that one has grown so far above and beyond the other (did Tyson have a little inside *government* help?).
I believe the comparison was made for two olympic athletes in the same competition, given the same pair of shoes, one running a four-minute mile while the other runs a one-minute mile.

Fear the day that Tyson buys out Perdue: then raise your own yardbirds.

14 posted on 09/29/2002 6:50:47 PM PDT by fone
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: DoughtyOne
I've heard of it. And what urks me is that enviro-whackjobs loved Clinton, who facilitated Tyson's avoidance of complying with Arkansas regulations.

Yeah, but Clinton was in favor of abortion up to 8 months, 29 days, so that made all other issues seem minor in comparison.

15 posted on 09/29/2002 6:57:22 PM PDT by 07055
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: fone
Look for government contracts to Tyson. Feeding a bunch of men in the military could be a rather nice way to grow a company. VA hospitals and other government programs across the nation would be another good place to check out. How about school lunch or breakfast programs? Seems to me the government could contract a company like Tyson into a near monopoly. Has it?
16 posted on 09/29/2002 6:57:39 PM PDT by DoughtyOne
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: 07055
That's true too.
17 posted on 09/29/2002 6:58:06 PM PDT by DoughtyOne
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: DoughtyOne
I've no doubt Tyson has the corner on that market!

Popular skool lunch: Chicken nuggets!
And, oh the military! Hadn't thought of that angle! Lord knows what they are fed.

18 posted on 09/29/2002 7:02:04 PM PDT by fone
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: gcruse
As long as I don't have to eat food from Mexico that rots a minute after I buy it...yeah I'm sure Mexico has really high standards...
19 posted on 09/29/2002 7:03:30 PM PDT by teresat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Cicero
As for food, fresh grown and local grown is certainly tastier and healthier than stuff that was picked when it wasn't ripe yet and shipped across the country.

Where do you live? Most of us live in areas where locally grown foods aren't available all year round. I like vegetables that have been shipped halfway around the world more than ones that have been stored here for 6 months or more.

20 posted on 09/29/2002 7:07:28 PM PDT by speekinout
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 161-162 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson