The first thing that comes to mind when I think of food is my mom. The next thing that comes to mind is the restaurant my parents used to own and all of the food that was prepared there. I never gave this food a thought, and I never established a connection between the food and myself, unless I was preparing it myself. I would read food labels somewhat often, but only to look at the calories, fat content, amount of sodium, and so on. This is what I know about food and I have been trained to think this way about food. I have been taught by my mother and society that food is something you prepare, not something that you grow. In fact, I have never really had the desire to grow my own food because I kill every plant that comes into my possession. However, the first time I came close to growing food is when I took care of a friend's garden while they were on vacation over the summer. Although I was scared that I was going to kill the vegetables, I also felt a fulfillment from watering the plants every morning because it was evident that they needed the water to survive. It was as if I could see that plants sprucing up after they had been hydrated. I even had to pick a squash or two when they were ripe, it was such a fun feeling! As funky as it sounds, I felt some sort of connection to the vegetable. Seeing the work of watering the vegetables paying off felt good. One of the harder parts of watering the plants was that the tomatoes just wouldn't grow! WHY?! It was an interesting feeling of frustration when I saw no progress on the tomatoes over the course of the week. I was determined to take special care of the tomatoes to try and encourage them to ripen. I later tasted the vegetables that my friend had been growing and they were spectacular! Maybe the reason they tasted so delicious is because I knew they were grown so close to home, right in my friends backyard. There is also a kind of mystification about growing food in a backyard, because I am so used to picking the vegetables off of a rack in the supermarket, rather than off the vine. This is what first sparked my desire to someday have my own garden.
And so my interest in food began. The semester following the summer, food was mentioned briefly in one of my classes, and I was immediately intrigued. I wanted to know more about food, how it is made, who controls food production, and why there are so many people living without enough food to sustain themselves! I find it so interesting that I know so very little about the very thing that sustains my very existence! Someone has to help me understand....
