instead of Uggs, mukluk boots

[OakLeaf]

Heh. See, sweet corn is the one thing I won't even eat if I didn't grow it myself. The sugars start to convert to starches within 90 minutes of picking. Even at the farmers' market, sweet corn picked earlier the same day just tastes like cardboard to me.

I'm breakfasting right now on frozen blueberries I picked this July (at a farm, I don't have bushes of my own).

Of course I know that any home food preservation - freezing, canning, drying in non-arid climates - has substantial energy costs. There, far more than in transportation IMO, is where economies of scale really come into play. But I wasn't talking about personal choices ...

[Catrin]

I LOVE blueberries, but for some reason I just don't care for frozen. To me they taste like cardboard...I do need to get more berries in my diet. It is interesting to see how this discussion has morphed, and I am enjoying the different perspectives.

[lph]

Of course I know that any home food preservation - freezing, canning, drying in non-arid climates - has substantial energy costs. There, far more than in transportation IMO, is where economies of scale really come into play. But I wasn't talking about personal choices ...

Oh, I know :-) It's just interesting to discuss. Because even with stiffer prices for overseas vegetables and fruit, they're still affordable here, especially compared to meat - which is locally produced, and highly subsidized to keep the rural districts alive. But then, I don't live in the high Arctic.

[Crankin]

I am eating less and less meat. I could easily be a vegetarian, but I like the increased choices I get when I add a little meat and chicken into my diet. I love beans, but they don't love me. I still eat them, though, in small amounts.
I guess the good thing is, is that we are all aware of this, in some way. It all adds up. Ten years ago, I didn't really think about any of this. I think my current job, where I have to drive so much, over longer distances, really made me start thinking about how much energy I am wasting. Sure, I am helping people, some of whom would not be getting therapy, but it started bothering me a lot in the past year.

[malkin]

I'm all in favor of not eating any food that tastes like cardboard in pretty much the same way that I also reject wearing any fake fur that becomes a sticky cold soggy mess when it gets wet.

[lph]

So am I, but... cardboard? That bad? I can't really think of any food, frozen, fresh or dried, that I would describe that way.

With the notable exception of rice crackers.

[malkin]

Some of the widely available grocery store frozen veggies are pretty bad. Circa 1973 my dad compared some frozen veg. on our plates to the green paper napkins we were using at the dinner table, but that was a long time ago.

I am quite a fan of frozen blueberries. As for the rest, Brewer does almost all the cooking and makes it taste fabulous, so I don't care how it got here.

As for rice crackers, aren't they more like packing peanuts?

[OakLeaf]

Ever tasted those cornstarch packing peanuts? They're better than rice cakes. Especially with a little salt.