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  • From: Windsoap AT aol.com
  • To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] cooking in France
  • Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2004 21:08:03 EST

In a message dated 3/26/2004 1:02:49 PM Pacific Standard Time, cheselka AT freestateproject.org writes:


absolute best
> strawberries I've ever eaten.


Oh, Matt, this is going to be fun!  Strawberries in France are about the size of the first joint of my thumb.  If you buy them at market in the morning, you really want to have them for lunch, preferably with a bit of creme fraiche.  They are so ripe, they won't hold.  They just don't do giant, tasteless berries. 

             They care about quality of food, not quantity.
The French are almost religious about food.  They talk about it constantly.  Meals are the most important event of daily life.  Their portions are about what a careful woman will eat.  They do not have "all you can eat" restaurants.  However, each plate is artfully arranged and garnished.  The French fuss about choosing their food - it must be the best - and they know how to choose.  When you ask for a melon, the vendor asks if you will have it for lunch, dinner or breakfast tomorrow. 
  1. Do Americans not care about the "quality" of their food?
To answer that question, just look into the shopping carts at the grocery.  There may be meat and veggies, sure.  The meat was probably packed in South Dakota with whatever that gas is that keeps it red and allows long shelf life.  The veggies have been sitting in a bin with water spraying on them, the potatoes are sprouting.....but Americans buy it.  Mostly they buy manufactured food, loaded with chemicals and the products of GMO corn.  Twinkies, chips, cokes, frozen entrees, styrofoam bread...
2.  2. How do Americans define food "quality"?  (I define it by
       deciding how the food I eat tastes)

remember, we on this list march to a different drummer.  The average American housewife (who probably also holds down a job) will define quality as affordable and quick to fix.  A friend of mine, who is a doctor, said "if we are what we eat, that makes me cheap and easy".

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?
yes, to most American shoppers.

4. Will Americans choose to have something of lower "quality" if
       it's cheaper?

We can't generalize, of course, but one word:  Walmart.

5. Have American taste buds been tampered with?  Are we less
       sensitive to "quality" food?
Of course.  And it gets worse with every generation.  The favorite vegetable in the US is french fries.  Second is corn.  Neither is a vegetable.  We don't do family dinners - we grab something and go.  American children think that a frozen pizza is a quality meal.  So many people have never had truly good food and it tastes "foreign" to them.  Just go to the grocery - better yet, Walmart - and inventory the shopping carts. 

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?
But that's just the point.  A tomato from Safeway does not taste like a tomato.  A lot of consumers accept that this is a tomato, but this is what we're all about.  A tomato that actually tastes like a tomato.   Lettuce that tastes like lettuce, not the preservatives it was washed in.  Thankfully, there are consumers out there - in the minority - who will drive out, pay a bit more and hopefully talk to their friends about this wonderful farm and how fabulous the food is. 

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?

No, I don't think that's it.  We're not hungry.  We just want it quick, sweet and greasy.  And piled high.  Whoppers, Hungry Man, etc.  A 24 ounce steak?  

   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 think this is the problem, along with the cultural/family changes.  Mom works, the kids have soccer...and dinner becomes a drive thru.  (they can't even spell through)  And the advertising, of course.

> And all the French are slim and enjoy their food immensely.

Meaning: "they eat like pigs and don't gain any weight"?  Well, I'm sure
there are some fat French people,

This is part of the French Paradox.   Yes, they enjoy their food, they eat well.  The French (and people in most other countries) eat three meals a day, one a major meal.  The French do not snack.  I suppose there are potato chips, etc. on the shelf at the Hypermarche, but they don't snack, they do not eat on the run or in their cars.  I think the closest to snacking on the street is ripping off the end of a fresh, warm baguette and munching on the way home.  A fat Frenchwoman is rare.  Most of the overweight people you will see in France are not French.  They are tourists or immigrants. 

When Americans go "on a diet" they opt for drugs, Metabolife and Slimfast.  Europeans just avoid the creme fraiche and viennoise and eat less.  They didn't get 50 or 100 pounds overweight and only need to lose 5 or 10 pounds to get back into their clothes. 

Wow.  I have made a lot of generalizations here.  Thankfully, a lot of this does not apply to all Americans and there are people who come to us for their food.  Local Harvest is getting a lot of attention.  But, we all need to work hard and talk to people and grow the best food we can.  It's what we do and if we keep doing it, we can make a difference.  Keep planting lettuce, Matt.   We are just starting to make a bit of headway.

Did I just open another can of worms? 
Wendy Akin
Akin Farm
Texas



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