In the early 1900′s through the 1950′s identifying the source of fruits and vegetables was fairly easy because growers, being proud of their labors, had beautiful labels affixed to each crate with the name of the grower as well as the location of the farm. Not only were these labels a work of art, but, had social significance, too. Much of the art reflected mores and stereotypes of the era. The disappearance of these labels seem to coincide with the onset of corporate farming as well as the cost of designing and printing them.

Corporate farms have provided an inexpensive and plentiful supply of foods through well planned distribution networks giving us year-round access to many things not previously possible. There is a cost, however – flavor.

The chain from farm to table is : producer – processor – distributer – retailer – consumer. Let’s look at the tomato. To get a tomato from the farm to your table before it spoils it must be picked green, stored, and shipped. The “cost” is – flavor. It suffers loss every day between harvest and consumption. Compare a head of green-leaf lettuce from a local stand that was picked that day to one shipped to the store. I am afraid we have come to view food more as fuel and have lost the memories of the wonderful and complex Taste of it. Please take a moment to read the link here to Slow Food USA and the Ark Of Taste.

There is a growing movement by consumers to support small, local farms, and organically grown foods. CSA or Community Supported Agriculture is just one way this is happening. Renewing The Countryside is another group working toward sustainability. Localvore is another food movement gaining popularity.

There is no doubt that it takes more time to access some of these local producers and sellers and time is at a premium as we struggle to stay ahead of what seems to be an increasing demanding economy. I think the rewards are worth the effort. Many of the trips necessary to find local foods can be done with the entire family and are educational, fun, and a break from the stress of time management we are slaved to daily.

It used to be the norm to harvest and put up foods in the cellar for future consumption spending hours preparing and canning fruits and vegetables. That was also a time when a family could get ahead with only one working parent. Perhaps it’s time to take a step back and consider what we sacrifice in the name of expedition.

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“Placing taste, touch and smell below sight and hearing is part of a pattern of dichotomies that includes “the elevation of mind over body; of reason over sense; of man over beast and culture over nature.”

“This denigration of food and cooking can be traced as far back as Plato, as Lisa Heldke shows in her exploration of Plato’s Gorgias, ‘Do You Really Know How to Cook?’ (see p.12) For Plato, cooking was a mere knack, as opposed to a genuine art like medicine.”

…..Philosophy & Food by Jeremy Iggers