How safe do we feel consuming the products that we buy? What constitutes our judgment? Food, for example, is intimate to our bodies. We become what we consume. To some extent, the history of what we consume can be tasted. If I were consuming a glass of milk and I got informed that it was from a law enforcer; it certainly would taste different. Here is why.
For context...
At least that how the previous blog post begun when I asked the same of police officers. That being said and read; what are the chances that the opposite holds true? What are the chances that a person in a career outside farming comes up with a better product that of a farmer? More than you would estimate is the answer.
Steve Jobs (R.I.P) was an artist obsessed with type font. He thought software developers were wrong to adopt a single font. How right he was. A tractor mechanic thought that there was a fundamental error in the construction of super cars; we now call that Lamborghini. Both of these never invented the actual object. They made the fundamental tweak in what we thought was perfect and that; changed the world.
See, a software developer need not know much but to narrow down to that which will make all the difference. Boy or boy are there tools for this. I could sample a competitors milk in the lab to understand the set of factors making theirs superior. Then I’d pass my milk through the same process. Artificial intelligence will simulate my cows’ habits from feeding to the environment till I theoretically match my competitors output. Then adapt the same with further improvements.
Farmers are like the folk who believed that the sun revolved around the earth. They laughed at Copernicus when he told them that we were among others like us revolving around the sun. Look at us now. Given enough time, repetitive knowledge and a hint of arrogance is mistaken for truth. Thus any new entrance to the market is closely monitored for heresy and such should be burnt at the cross.
What is of bigger worry is the fact that there seems to be a universal truth around farming. Money. Prowess seems to be measured in quantity not quality. It is about who can make the most the soonest and to hell with health. Genetically altered organisms are a preference. Both plants and animals have been altered to guarantee yields. It is no longer about nutrition.
We loose sense when life comes second to greed. Tasteless artificial organisms rule the shelves because most will go for cheaper; regardless. If your food is truly organic, then you are forced to sell it at a pretty penny and chances are that your margins will be slim and so will be your customer traffic.
Do Christians tithe profits made from the sale of poisonous products?
There is a glimmer of hope in those that are principled to stand for good. For these, farming is an art and every fruit must be picture perfect. Farmers like these are in involved and personal to their creations. There fruits taste like creation; not something grown from the dirt. The taste is unmistakable.
More so, every fruit you taste is unique. Aren’t we all fruits? There is beauty in death. We survive because plants and animals die for our life’s sake. Relish and honor every fruit coming from such farms because each first taste is the last as the next will be unique. During such times you realize that; death gives meaning to life.
Can this love be programmed into machinery so that we may all share the experience? I am yet to taste that but not for long...