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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] cooking in France

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  • From: Pat Meadows <pat AT meadows.pair.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] cooking in France
  • Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2004 16:35:10 -0500


(I'm answering some of the questions below and skipping
others. I don't have an answer for the ones I've skipped.)

>I'd really like to understand what's so different about what they're (the
>French gardeners/farmers) doing as compared to what we're (USA
>gardeners/farmers) to create such an obvious difference. Is it the soil?
>Is it the growing method? Is it the variety of strawberry they're
>growing?

I should think all of those could have an influence on the
quality of the berries, and that the weather might have
something to do with it also.

>
>> They care about quality of food, not quantity.
>
>This statement, Joan, struck me so hard I'm still trying to recover. I
>read it 8 hours ago and my jaw is still flopping on the ground! The
>reason this struck me so hard is becuase it raised so many other questions
>in my head:
>
> 1. Do Americans not care about the "quality" of their food?

My answer to this question is 'As a generalization, no, I
think most Americans don't care about the quality of their
food. If they did, there would be better food available.'

> 2. How do Americans define food "quality"? (I define it by
> deciding how the food I eat tastes)

I know a lot of Americans who seem to define 'quality' in
food as 'large servings' and (especially) 'a big slab of
beef'. I know many Americans who seem to define 'quality'
in food by the degree of sweetness of the food - the
sweeter, the better - or by the degree of saltiness of the
food.

> 3. Is more of something (which leads to a lower price if you
> agree with the theory of supply and demand) more desireable
> than anything else?
> 4. Will Americans choose to have something of lower "quality" if
> it's cheaper?
> 5. Have American taste buds been tampered with? Are we less
> sensitive to "quality" food?

Yes, I think so. American tastes are degraded by consuming
so much junk food, and especially by so terribly much sugar
and corn syrup in everything.


> 6. If a tomato bought at Safeway tastes about as good (something
> subjective, of course, and subject to a person's taste
> sensitivity) as one bought at a farmers' market, why would anyone
> feel compelled to pay the (probably) higher price?
> 7. Are Americans in a situation similar to 3rd world countries,
> where *any* food is better than no food at all, and therefore
> "quality" doesn't play into the decision?

> 8. Has commercialization in the food industry made Americans
> less sensitive (i.e., dulled our sight, smell, taste,
> hearing, and touch) to "quality" food and therefore a tomato
> bought as Safeway equals one bought at the market? (e.g., "All
> tomatoes are the same")

Yes, I believe this to be the case.

Pat
--
"Rats and roaches live by competition under the laws of
supply and demand. It is the privilege of human beings to
live under the laws of justice and mercy." - Wendell Berry




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