Without Profitable Farms, Would There Be Thanksgiving?

Each time I go to a supermarket, especially the produce section, I recall the words of a Russian teacher who visited Middle Township School District years ago: “The first time I went into one of your supermarkets, I cried. I thought of all those years my government told me how underprivileged you Americans were, and then to see all the fruits and vegetables all year long, it was just incredible.”
For years, she, along with other Russians, had to wait in long lines for bread or meat or vegetables or just about anything else to stay alive. They were told by their government how fortunate they were, and how much better they were than those “poor” Americans across the globe. It was all a boldface lie, yet they knew no different.
What a time to think about supermarkets and the mind-boggling array of food we have placed before us, as long as we have money to buy it. Hunger still troubles many among us, although many work to eradicate it, or at least lessen its impact on our fellow residents.
At no time in the year, other than around the holidays, do we think as much about food as now. Food banks are making pleas for donations now, since they know many will give now, but somehow ignore the pleas in September and April. Does hunger disappear when no holidays are close?
As we gather tomorrow to celebrate Thanksgiving with family and friends, or perhaps with strangers in a communal feast setting, few will remember to gives thanks for the producers of that splendid assortment of poultry, vegetables and fruits. Who is that unknown person? A farmer, of course.
Each year moves an increasing number of Americans from “the land” which provides the bounty we enjoy. How many children grew to maturity never seeing a turkey or hog, a field of potatoes or vines filled with beans? How many ventured into a cranberry bog to see that tart fruit growing and harvested?
We will offer prayers of grace and gratitude for the fine spread of food, yet the farmers who provided it will get less than a passing thought. We have forgotten where food grows and who tends it while it does.
We live in the Garden State, and fortunately, here in Cape May County, there is an ongoing Farmland Preservation program that wrests valuable farm tracts from potential development. Still, as the state prides itself as a producer of food, fewer and fewer farm families can be found.
We want the produce and the meat, but no one wants to live near the smells of a farm, and not all of them are pleasant.
When we visit farm markets seeking truly fresh veggies and fruit, we may see a bumper sticker around the cash register that proclaims, “No Farmers, No Food.” It’s not a cute saying; it is a cold hard fact. Still, when budgets are cut at the state and federal levels, agricultural research seems a favorite to slice.
Knowledgeable people in the field realize that, as the world population explodes, more food will be required from ever decreasing parcels around the world. What will they eat in 50 years if farms morph into housing developments, and orchards sprout shopping malls?
Think about what that Russian visitor uttered about the vast array of produce available in our supermarkets. Where does all that food originate? Much of it is not from the Garden State.
Lettuce, tomatoes and celery likely were shipped from California. Strawberries? Florida or California. Onions? Chances are good they grew in Oregon. How about apples? New Zealand, Chile Washington State or maybe New York, although some markets may sell Jersey apples.
Grapes? Try Chile. Bananas? Never from the Garden State.
Carrots? Not grown in Jersey, maybe Canada. Cauliflower and broccoli? Again, probably not from the Garden State. Peaches and corn? Not this time of year in New Jersey, that’s for certain.
Old residents of this county may recall Sunshine Farm on Route 47 in Green Creek. That was where turkeys once were raised, but no longer.
Some hogs and sheep are still raised in Belleplain.
Vineyards seem the new darling all around the county. They are taking up many acres to produce grapes that will become wine. There is nothing wrong with that, but those fields, now producing grapes, at one time produced lima beans and more mundane food staples. Farmers, for certain, are business people. They have to make a profit from their produce, or else their fields turn into houses.
For too long, we have been lulled into a sense of ease by an abundance of relatively inexpensive food. Many will enjoy turkeys tomorrow that cost them “nothing” since they were provided as a reward for spending money on other food. Thus, many believe that the farmers who raised the centerpiece of tomorrow’s feast work for nothing. That’s untrue, but we may think otherwise. Someone had to produce the food, and had to make a profit doing it. That, in itself, is a miracle, just another for which to give thanks tomorrow.