Disclaimer: I’m going to be a bit bitchy in this post.
This morning, a friend sent me a link to an article on our local newspaper’s website.
I wasn’t sure what to think (besides “Wow, I really want that wheatgrass!”) I mean, on one hand, the author is putting the idea of sustainable eating and conscious food choices out into the mainstream; promoting something that many might not yet know about. On the other hand, the cute little headline and the wide range of the article (honestly…I care about the treatment of the animals, but I would think that in order to put a bug into the heads of some people, we need to focus on how this affects them) made people who care about their food seem “faddish.”
Which is exactly what one of the idiotic lovely commenters said.
I should know by now, that the people that comment on the site are usually the same small group of closed-minded, loud-mouthed individuals. The newspaper is trying to survive, but I feel that it is lost in the mix due to a largely conservative readership and a misguided attempt to compete with the Riverfront Times. But that’s just me. Hooray, Post-Dispatch, for diversifying your content. Boo for including this article in the section where trends and fads are discussed. Um, try the food section??
But I digress. Are these people really so ignorant that they think the earth is a permanent fixture for them to destroy as they see fit? They must think that food comes from restaurants and stores, and that money and technology will ensure the permanence of the planet. I have to wonder what schools are/were teaching kids. Does anyone know the meaning of cause/effect anymore? Or have we given up trying to explain “if this, then that” and left our younger generations in a self-absorbed bubble, wearing blinders and screaming “not me, not me, NOT ME!!!” (Hey, I thought that way too. It can and will happen to you, whatever it is. Maybe we need to implement a class on reality into our schools: disaster, disease, “bad things” don’t just happen in movies or to other people).
Now I’m just in kind of a foul mood, so I really need to make a few points before I go off on my merry way:
-Chemical pesticides are not necessary to avoid insect infestations. I would be eating a lot more bugs if that were true.
-If caring about health and what we put in our bodies is a “fad” that won’t make a difference, fine. Think about it: DeBeers started the “a diamond is forever” “fad” and the Beef Checkoff started the “Beef It’s What’s for Dinner” “fad” and the American Dairy Association started the “3-A Day to lose fat” or whatever “fad” and people fell for those. Oooh, the powers of marketing money. If a “fad” is what it takes to get people to open their eyes, so be it.
-It’s expensive? Really? I remember being a hard-core high-protein eater: meat, cheese, yogurt all the time. And I never bought organic. And I spent more then. But that is beside the point. Those ADD drugs all the kids are taking aren’t cheap, and it’s pretty much been proven that food additives worsen that condition. Last I checked, prepared food and boxed stuff wasn’t cheap, either. And neither is this.
I’m done. Yes, I am bitter, and yes, anytime I read comments on stltoday.com I want to forget about grad school and leave immediately, and become a mountain recluse where I can deny the existence of idiots, but that wouldn’t help anything, would it?
Now I am going to go find a few things to like about this town, so I don’t go crazy. If you got this far, thanks for reading, and feel free to leave a comment about anything (anything!) that pissed you off today. My vent platform is your vent platform.
Unless, of course, you are going to pick on me. Then, just go somewhere else.
