Monday snark....

This weekend Bob and I went to a dinner party. We actually had a nice time, and met some really interesting people, but that would be boring to blog about, wouldn't it? I'm sure you would love to hear about the tender flakiness of the salmon I ate, or my personal moment of triumph when I waived away the dessert, but something tells me you want a little snark with your Monday morning coffee? Un peue de snark, no?

So this man was at our dinner table--let's call him "Bill." I have actually forgotten his real name, so, heh, hope it isn't Bill. Bill talked for at least half of the table's conversation about the reason he moved here to our little town. His entire family suffered greatly when they were back at their old home, both physically and mentally, but were good as gold when they came here. Finally, they figured out that everyone was getting really sick from the pesticides back home. See, Bill is a farmer. A very, very rich farmer. After going on and on about how terrible pesticides are, how now they only eat organic, how they only eat cows that have been slaughtered in nice ways without any antibiotics, about how everything they touch is pure and now their lives are markedly different, I managed to ask a question. Because even though the dinner conversation was remarkably monopolized, I thought it was great that he and his family were healthy and living a better life.

"So are you an organic farmer now?"

Bill looked at me like I was crazy. "Hell, no. Organic costs three times as much for a third of the yield. I have a little plot dedicated to organic, but the money just isn't there."

"Well, then what motivates a farmer to go organic? Aren't there subsidies or something?"

"The only thing that motivates a farmer to grow and sell organic is something inside of him. Most people just can't afford to eat healthy." And he went back to eating his green salad that hadn't been touched by a pesticide while countless families that night were no doubt digging into their dinner that had been liberally sprayed with poison and purchased for pennies at Walmart. And possibly grown by this man at my table.

It made me feel so sad inside.

Edited to add: This made me feel sad mostly because the world is so unfair. We ALL deserve to eat healthy food. Clearly, it isn't feasible, and THAT is a travesty.
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Now, to lighten my own mood, I direct you here, to the story that broke this weekend. Have you read about the Kansas woman who chose to stay on the toilet for two solid years? Have at it. Happy Monday.