I was just talking with someone recently about the lunar cycles and their significance to traditional cultures that had a closer association to the land, to the wilderness, and to the moon, than we presently do. We discussed how these lunar cycles were not only observed, but how these cultures would hold ceremonies in recognition of the lunar cycles.
These traditional cultures tended to pay attention to things that our modern culture did not, being more in tune with the wilderness, with what we call nature, and thus enjoyed heightened senses in comparison to us. That lunar cycles would affect crop harvests and other spiritual traditions and cycles is not really surprising. I do know that people's sleep cycles, and possibly even their behavior, are often affected by the full moon, presumably because of the gravity, and out blood being pulled, so to speak. So, yes, it makes sense, if that is the case, indeed.
It all reminded me of a restaurant that I heard about on the radio some time ago, and which I really wanted to explore at some point. It was a small movement of sorts, restricted only to the one guy in charge, and it was a combination farm and restaurant. The idea was specifically to eat only what was produced locally (and how much more local can you get than the very farm site where the restaurant is located at?). In other words, you would not be able to eat just anything that you wished, but would eat what is specifically in season. The guy's name is Dan Barber, and the restaurant ( he has more than one, if memory serves correctly) is called Blue Hill at Stone Barns. In any case, when I heard him speak about his philosophy on food, it really raised my eyebrows, and got me to thinking about food, and just how much we take it for granted that we can eat whatever we want, whenever we want. I remember him saying specifically that we need to recognize that while it is not inherently wrong or evil or anything to eat tropical fruits, like pineapples, say, in January or February (like I did from a fruit platter during the Super Bowl, for example), we do need to recognize that it is a privilege. he then went on to describe the specific fruits and veggies that were produced on site all year round, and mentioned specifically a type of carrot (I forget what the specific carrot is called, but can try to remember with some urging).
In any case, what made me perk my ears up, so to speak, was the language that he used when talking about how we produce food. He spoke about it in terms of "culture", almost, if memory serves correctly (I really should have reviewed the program before writing about it like this, but I will add some links so you can explore it on your own, if interested. What he said, essentially, was that although we have learned the means of efficiently mass producing foods, and growing them more and more efficiently, what we are missing is the flavor. Farms that mass produce these fruits and vegetables lack flavor because there are still only so many nutrients and other things that are available, and the more fruits or vegetables that they are spread to, the less flavorful these foods become (he explained it much better than I just did, to be sure). Also, by focusing on mass production of only specific fruits and veggies (as well as other foods) that are then mass produced by clearing hug tracts of land and producing only that one type of food, we are robbing ourselves of the diversity of tasty experiences of the other fruits that we are not growing.
Essentially, what he advocates is to grow those things that are specialties of the land, specifically, no matter what the season. He mentioned those carrots (for whatever the reason, I think it might be called Markum carrots? - but don't quote me yet on that), and they specifically grow in the wintertime. While we cannot expect them to grow in the same numbers as mass produced foods, they nonetheless are more local and specialized, and they tend to taste far better than what most people see as carrots, because these are chemical free and produced from our land. If you go to his restaurant, you already are on the site where these came from, and you can see the fields, the farm. Apparently, it tastes sweeter, and the taste is much more pronounced, than carrots that you might buy at the local supermarket. The focus is on taste, on it being natural, and not on numbers, not about mass profit. It is rethinking food, and our relationship and overall approach to food. It was fascinating, really, and in case you are interested, here are some of the links:
http://www.silobreaker.com/the-most-powerful-people-in-the-american-food-world-5_2265422084148560043 (there's a link to Dan Barber, specifically, in this one, if you look for it)
http://being.publicradio.org/programs/2010/driven-by-flavor/transcript.shtml This one is the radio transcript from the specific program that I was listening to when I first really heard about this guy and his approach to food. It should tell you something that this is a program about faith!
Hope you enjoy the links, if you choose to explore them! I wanted to go to the restaurant but, alas, have not as of yet done so. It is a fairly pricey thing to do, but I think it is for a legitimately good cause, and keep in mind that the farmers themselves do need to get paid, which may play a large part in the price. It was the idea behind it, though, that blew me away, personally, and I am still interested in learning more about this myself!
No comments:
Post a Comment