The Strawberry I hear you asking. What could this guy possibly write about a strawberry?

This particular blog is not about this simple fruit itself, more the questions it provoked.

I was shopping in the supermarket and for some reason decided that I needed some strawberries in my life. Nothing wrong with that I hear you say.

What I saw

As I placed them into the basket, I noted several things.

First, the fruit was the product of Portugal. Nothing against Portugal at all, nice country. The problem is that for these fruit to be fresh, they would have been air freight.

Second was the packaging. To be transported safely these 8 strawberries, were in a plastic box.

Reflection

Given the current focus on the climate, it made me reflect.

As a child, the seasons were so much more defined than they are today. We ate certain foods at certain times of the year. I recall disliking the ‘New Potato season’ and longing for mashed potatoes. I recall going strawberry picking in those few weeks of the year that they were ready. Vegetables would be grown and frozen so that they could be used throughout the year.

In todays world, that may seem so very archaic. But we survived. Not only did we survive, we appreciated more where the food came from. It taught us the seasons. Variety was forced upon us.

I wonder if the younger generation have such an understanding of their food source. They are after all the ‘Always on’ generation where everything is available at the click of a button.

Should we do things just because we can?

It is undeniably true that we can provide all year round supplies of such fruit and foodstuffs. For me the question is – Should we?

I feel that this blog is heading the way of so many of my others. It feels like it is going to end with the question, “Is it time to go back to the way things were?”. We happily existed with seasonal foods, sourced locally. I am sure that the seasons can be extended in an environmentally responsible way. The younger generation may need to learn new skills. The older ones amongst us would need to refresh some of theirs.

Ultimately we would survive. In fact it may be key to our survival as we fight to save our planet.

Ultimately, it is up to us. If we don’t buy these things, they won’t be air freighted. They won’t be packed in plastic.

Reference

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Photo by Isaac Quesada on Unsplash