Doesn't that sound like the punchline to a joke about Dr. Ruth?
What's Up, Doc?Happily, that's not the case.
Sure, we Jews know food. But not in the Biblical sense.
And if you want to know what Jews know about food, the place to look is the Jew and the Carrot, which is a Jewish blog about food. Or a food blog about Jews.
Either way, I've got a post up there today. Which is why I haven't posted here all week. So I hope you enjoy the cross-post. Or should I say the Magen David-post?
Posts
4 comments:
I came here from The Jew and the Carrot, read your blog, and enjoyed myself. Now down to work. I would like to email you about writing for our website. If you could drop me a line at editor@interfaithfamily.com, I'll have your address and can ask you about writing. That way, I can justify spending 20 minutes snorting to myself at my desk over your blog.
Hi L - I'm headed back to stumptown at the end of the month - we'll have to do some serious eating and laughing together in person! I'll be just down the street from you at Michelle's so hopefully we'll find time to get together.
Hi, Lois -- I posted this to "Jew and the Carrot," too, where I found your "backlash" post.
...Thanks for reading my piece in The Oregonian and linking to it, even if you're not a fan. I didn't expect everybody to agree with my approach. Nor did I expect several readers, including yourself, it seems, to be so surprised that some people are still trying to navigate a path between all-organic, all the time...and making a few new choices they can incorporate into their budgets without too much pain. I was bummed, really, to hear from a number of folks with your attitude about the $1.20. No, I didn't buy any cigs with my savings. Yeah, I, personally, can afford the extra 20 cents a pound for organic bananas, and in fact, I've started buying them lately. I like local food, too. I choose the Washington apples over the ones from New Zealand, and I've stopped buying grapes from Chile. I'm trying, see?
But in a state with a median household income hovering around $47K (http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/income/histinc/h08.html), it's a bit out of touch to dismiss financial considerations altogether. That kind of attitude only alienates people who are trying to figure out what it means to live in a more sustainable way -- including myself. What's wrong with starting with the Dirty Dozen?
Thanks,
Shelby
shelbywood@news.oregonian.com
Here's the response I sent Shelby, if any one cares.
I think you're missing the larger point - the exposure of agricultural workers and their families to toxins sprayed on conventionally grown food. It's a huge issue. The jcarrot post links to just one study on the topic - and that's funded by the Federal government, not exactly known as a leftist hippie institution.
(That was a joke, btw. Kind of like the line about low tar cigarettes.)
If we think of organic as a privileged choice of self interest (protecting "my" family from the dirty dozen)- as you did in your article - we miss this larger point.
Yeah, people are living on tight incomes. But I don't think that means we should repeal labor laws and employ children just so we can buy goods that are more cheaply produced. So why should we poison kids - and their farm working parents - just so we can buy cheaper produce?
Even if all one cares about is the money, at the end of the day, we're all paying for their cancer treatment anyway. (Also a joke. Though tragically accurate, too).
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