Grapes Have Leaves

Today I was watching/listening to a program and heard someone make a comment.  The conversation was about a recipe that used grape leaves.  This person commented they didn't even know grapes have a leaves.  So I let my mind ponder on that a moment.

Yes, grapes grow on a vine that has leaves.  Being close to my own food source it seems foreign to imagine someone would think that milk and eggs come from the grocery store.  Chicken, beef, pork and fish are found in the refrigerated area at the store. Vegetables are stored in bins and bread on shelves. Right?

Harland and I have followed the Survivor TV series for several years now.  We laugh when the show provides live chicken for the contestants in their camp.  On several occasions they have killed the hen and keep the rooster.  Even though we have seen this several times we are always amazed.  So many people do not know a hen will lay eggs without the presence of a rooster.  So if they had killed the rooster instead of the hen they would still have a hen laying eggs and still have a protein food source.

The move away from the family farm has resulted in a society that does not know and not enough people care where good affordable food comes from.  As the number of family farms dwindle every decade I wonder who will supply food for the multitudes.  As usual it will be the adage, 'You don't know what you've got until it's gone'.  My mom and dad never owned a farm.  We lived near farms and at different times rented farm houses.  As a child I was always aware of farm life.  I always knew milk came from cows and corn came from fields and so on.

As a result some have no empathy for the people who work hard to bring food our tables.  I believe some even look down upon those who live in rural settings as well as the farmer.  I don't believe in any way most people know how hard the work is for a farmer.  Or the sense of responsibility they feel about providing the worlds food.  Their work continues when the weather is cold or hot, fair or cloudy.   Every years crop is an investment with no guarantee of a fruitful outcome.  I personally have grumbled about food prices at the grocery store.  But trust me in most cases the farmer is not the getting the benefit of most of the increase in food cost.

You can blame that on rising production costs, mainly fuel.  Fuel costs touch every aspect of farm life.  The cost to plant seed, fertilize and harvest food, bring feed for livestock to the farm, take livestock and foodstuffs to the market and process food for consumption.

On a personal note, I find being closer to my food source gives me an appreciation for the land, the soil, the dirt.  I love to smell the air after the soil in the fields and gardens have been turned over.  There is something beautiful about the order of perfectly laid out rows of crops in gardens and fields.  I love seeing the dots of cows and other stock against rolling hillsides of green pastures.  Even though our farm only produces a few cows, chickens, bees and our own garden I love being part of farm life.  I think everyone should have an opportunity to experience it.  Even if they don't enjoy being part of the farm experience, everyone should know where their food comes from.  I plan to make sure all of my grandchildren learn milk comes from a cow and does not magically appear on the grocery store shelves!  I challenge everyone else to do likewise!