I would like to start out by saying that I didn’t always like vegetables much unless they were potatoey and/or deep fried in batter (or both). Over the past few years, I have evolved from a salty snacky, grease loving girl into a slightly healthier (ok, still salty snacky loving) veggie freak. It is odd to think that I am now a somewhat healthy veggie lover but I am – and lately, especially spinach.
And so this brings me to my ranting of the day:
When do I ever get to eat spinach again?
A while ago some farm in the US that grows veggies (for apparently the entire world) was using less than standard growing practices and ended up with a crop of E.coli infected spinach…and unfortunately a few people actually got very sick and died from eating it. Not only does this make me want to go off on multiple rants about the evils of factory farms and their degenerating effect on food quality, farming in general and sustainable resources, I want simply to ask people why they don’t just wash their vegetables. I mean they’re from the GROUND! And they’ve probably traveled a gazillion miles, handled by who knows how many people and trucks and you can’t just eat them without at least a little rinse. Blech - it’s like rubbing your hands around in the muck, dusting them off and thinking “oh boy! I’m gonna go and eat some poy now”. Again - blech. Why not buy from local farms, who take pride in their quality and product instead of fishing out the sea and buying veggies from across the world when you don’t have to? How is lettuce from Mexico cheaper than stuff from the yard nearby? This is why the latest issue of Science published an article stating that research shows that we WILL fish out all the fish from the oceans and lakes in the next 40 years. And oddly enough noone cares (freaks the hell out of me…). Apparently, the world is more concerned about keeping the evil “poison” spinach from the masses.but I digress.
What was my point?
Oh yes – the evils of spinach.
Apparently now spinach is now considered more poisonous than botulism or ebola. It cannot be purchased or even special ordered from any local grocer. Admittedly this time of year it should cost a bit more to have to buy from greenhouses but right now it is GONE. There is no sign it ever existed, and cannot be found fresh anywhere…and (of course) that means that I am craving it: spinach salad, spinach risotto, spinach and feta lasagna, spinach pizza…*sigh*
I needs my spinach.
Oh great corporate juggernaut, I ask thee:
Can I please have some spinach?
I promise I’ll wash it.
3 comments:
Yes, sad, very sad indeed. A good part of the problem is that the powers that be are good at forcing a whole country to grow nothing but coffee (Nicaragua is a good example).
Spinach could so easily be grown locally in Canada much cheaper. But it is just not financially feasible. Even amateur gardeners will have difficulty with some crops, if they are rare, "luxury" items.
Not that I am against luxury itmes. Here, in Taiwan, foreign goods (cheddar cheese, which just isn't made in Taiwan, is imported from the closest, cheapest place they can get it, which is Australia). So they're making a lot of money off me in the Taiwanese supermarkets. And since I've been buying the stuff like crazy, starting from when I was buying Danish Brie (the closest thing to non-processed cheese in all of Fongyuan, and sometime in all of Taiwan, they'vre really been starting to stock the stuff). I'm sure my buying splurges have benfited the handful of other foreigners here in Taiwan who have been dying for real cheese.
Processed cheese? Blecccchhh!
Oh man...no cheese?
I'd go insane.
Spinach I can get by without...but not cheese.
Here in the Lower Mainland we are so busy paving over our agricultural land because, ya know, we can get all our veggies from California and the rest of the US. Bastards.
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