Monday, October 26, 2009

Another Rite Destroyed

Check out this piece on apple picking. Turns out that apple-picking is a scam, keeping alive inefficient orchards by over-charging, etc.

But these trees are hardly natural. They aren't the sort of majestic, voluptuous apple trees you would have found in the Garden of Eden. They're dwarf apple trees, stumpy bushes engineered so that their fruit grows just a few feet off the ground. They're the veal calves of the fruit world.
So, we end up over-buying, getting too many apples, many that we will have to throw out.

This piece might be just a tad more cynical than necessary, as part of the price being paid is for the fun of picking. The kids enjoy being pulled around on a hay wagon and get to run around an orchard. I guess the question is whether the various fuels and other inputs are doing damage to the Earth. Otherwise, what's the harm?

If you thought comparing apples to oranges was a fruitless endeavor, try comparing apples to apples.
Here is the proof that this guy does not know what he is talking about. My students know only too well that one can compare apples to oranges.

2 comments:

Bill Ayres said...

Here's another question for this fellow - how is it that, at our local orchard (which grows 50 varieties of apples, most not found in stores - in itself a value), I pay FAR LESS for apples than I would at the grocery store? Never mind the lack of wax on the skins, the lack of pesticides...

Ellen Saideman said...

Children really enjoy eating apples that they have picked, so picking apples encourages children to eat fruit, which is great.

Also, why waste apples? There's always applesauce, apple crisp, apple pie, etc. And apples last a fairly long time, especially compared to raspberries, let's say.

But my favorite fruit to pick is strawberries because they taste so much better when picked fresh!