Sean Dwyer

5/20

“To me, Beddard’s fields looked exactly like those of Ag-Mart, Six L’s, Pacific Tomato Growers, or any other large conventional grower.” (Estabrook 154)

“He says that his yields are lower than his chemically dependent colleagues, sometimes significantly, but he more than recoups the differences in yields through the higher prices he can command for organic produce.” (Estabrook 155)

“The main man looked at her and at me, then he walked her to her stateroom. Later he came to my stateroom to offer the apologies of the Holland-American Line. He said, “Believe me, everyone wants you on the boat. We are terribly sorry, etc, etc.” – (Smart-Grosvenor 124)

“For example, the Homestead Act of 1862, a massive federal subsidy program, transferred over 50 million acres of Native American lands to mostly white male colonists and land speculators through 160-acre homesteads in exchange for five years of farming or payment of $1.25 an acre.” (Davy et al.)

“Now, if a squash and a potato and a duck and a pepper can grow and look like their ancestors, I know damn well that I can walk around dressed like mine.” (Smart-Grosvenor 118)

“The funny thing was everyone said I had a glow that evening and I kept saying that I didn’t feel good and the glow they saw was fever. They said I had the glow of health.” (Smart-Grosvenor 104)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/report-trump-says-firing-nut-job-comey-took-off-pressure/2017/05/20/ba35568a-3d2c-11e7-a59b-26e0451a96fd_story.html

This week’s texts triggering passages held a theme of growth and malformed perception. The first quote from Tomatoland demonstrates the absurd homogeneity of commercial farming in order to compensate for the high financial investment of defying nature, which is interestingly reflected in the following quote. The organic Florida tomato farmer uses a very similar method (without harsh chemicals and exploitation of migrant labor) only to get lower yields and he recoups the difference in yield by getting more money for the produce from those who can afford its purchase. Commercial farming has roped this organic farmer into supporting a way of farming that puts pressure on him to put constraints on consumers (or exploit farm workers and/or poison the farmworkers and consumer) because he wants to grow food and not directly hurt people. This reminded me of the main man mentioned on page 124 of Vibration Cooking because saying sorry for the company he works for rather than expressing his gratitude for her patience because he couldn’t think of some way to do the right thing and keep his job is similar to knowing you can get by because people will pay more to not eat poisoned food so he can have more than one farm. That being said, this farmer could decide to use pesticides, and the main man could have decided to not make an apology for the company.

This reminds me of a quote from page 167 in Tomatoland “‘There’s need out there,’ he said. ‘And if no one else is going to fill it, I have to step into the void.’ He shrugged philosophically and added, ‘And even if we fail, those new units will still be there.’” This quote put in perspective the contrast this farmer is creating by showing organic farming in Florida is possible while demonstrating the support consumers will show for a higher quality food product. The food first article touches upon the United States’ history of discriminatory, greedy, and spiteful decision making that has yet again undermined the ability for African-Americans to have opportunities at the expense of Indigenous peoples. The following quote from Vibration Cooking describes the silliness of claiming a living being to be yours because you declare it to be so and then continue to declare power over a person who celebrates the loving embrace of their heritage. The final quote from Vibration Cooking describes Vertemae’s glow when her self-determination left the boundaries of her body and her physical ailment revealed the strength of her spiritual health.