Food For Thought

I know nothing about cows. Driving through Central California with my wife I see (and smell) many cows. The cows end and the trees begin; olive, pistachio, apricot, avocado and apple. I know nothing of fruit trees. How citified I am. The cows drink from a lake. They cover the mountain so thick that from the highway they look like a flock of birds. Where do they go? What do the farmers do with them?


The pistachio trees line the highway. Where do the nuts get water from? Does a large company pick them on behalf of the rancher? I know that Sunkist contracts out with orange growers to pick their fruit for them at a percentage of profit. Nuts! I am clueless about such things.

I am embarrassed to admit this. Certainly everyone reading this knows all about cattle. Surely there is common knowledge about orchards. I can cook a steak and peel a pistachio. Cows confuse though.

The traditional cure for lack of sleep is counting sheep. My lack of sleep is caused by sheep. It’s embarrassing really. Part of me believes that everyone knows these things. Realistically I suspect that most people are clueless about where all their food and drink come from. People get their knowledge of wine, cheese and ranching from movies like ‘Sideways’ and ‘Charlottes Web.’ I am startled by my own shallowness in this area. It’s knowledge I need to cultivate.