This post is inspired by BLin’s previous post… it’s nice to hear people talk a bit about the benefits of local produce and sweet, sweet jam. The topic of food shipment brings up a good opportunity to talk about the homogenization of supermarket produce sections (yay!). Not only do suppliers pick fruit early (and use chemicals to delay/instigate fruit ripening), but they also choose breeds that are more tolerant to traveling conditions; breeds that have long shelf lives, are resistant to damage, and are able to retain some remnants of flavor when ripened en route instead of in vivo. Add that to the fact that suppliers also choose cultivars which produce near factory-quality visual consistency (color, size, shape), and the sum total is a bland and watery crate of tomatos. I used to hate tomatoes until a friend gave me some of his own homegrown heirloom beefsteak and cherry tomatoes — it was an epiphany.  I was biting into an entirely different food.

I believe this is a symptom of mass consumerism in American food culture; consumers value consistent appearance, practicality, and predictability over flavor.  It’s true that sometimes flavors offend… not everybody has the same tastes. But the more we try to please everybody, the more we please nobody, a problem which is clearly portrayed in American beers (wait, hear me out!).