Guest Post by Michael Nolan: Casinos and Supermarkets

A guest post by author Michael Nolan, who takes a creative approach to examining seasonal, local food. Photo by Naotakem on Flickr.

Though I’m not a traditionally religious man, I had to appreciate the wisdom of the biblical phrase from Ecclesiastes that says, “To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under Heaven.”  The quote was made all the more palatable many centuries later by The Byrds in the song “Turn! Turn! Turn.”  You’re welcome for getting that earworm stuck in your brain, by the way.

Photo by Palooja on Flickr

Have you ever been into a casino?  If not, then allow me to set the stage for you: the lights are midway between bright and dim, the temperature is comfortable – not too hot, not too cold – and you will never see a clock anywhere.  Why do they do all of that?  Easy!  The more comfortable you are, the longer you will stay.  The less you are able to keep track of time, the more of your money they will have the opportunity to take.

They don’t want you to be aware of what time it is.

Photo by Kozumel on Flickr

I find it funny that in supermarkets today we have the luxury of buying so-called fresh produce year- round that should not be fresh for us.  How is it that we have fresh bananas in January?  How can that be right?  What about those tomatoes that look like tomatoes but taste like paper pulp?

The grocery industry wants you to think that it doesn’t matter what the season is. You are entitled to eat whatever you want, whenever you want.  Unfortunately, nature doesn’t agree.

Before there were refrigerators or long-term food storage solutions, people ate what they could raise and grow. When the yellow squash and beans ran out, they moved on to the pumpkins, kale and winter crops.  They ate what was seasonally available.

I’m not saying that we shouldn’t avail ourselves of canning, freezing and drying to extend the harvest and keep a variety of food on the table year round, I’m just saying that we need to relearn our food and to think on a more local scale when it comes to what we eat.

Did you know that eating a spoonful of locally raised honey can relieve and even cure allergy and sinus issues?  I’m speaking as someone who once took an ephedrine-based pill every morning for nearly 15 years and hasn’t had the need for any allergy treatments (aside from my trusty Neti Pot) since I started my local honey regimen.

Where your food comes from matters. What you eat, and when you eat it, matters too.

Michael Nolan, The Garden Rockstar is an author, blogger and speaker on gardening, sustainability, food ethics and homesteading. He wrote a new guest post on a different site for most days in May. To follow his progress, visit MyEarthGarden.com.

Meanwhile, come back later this week … and I’ll show you what cool and unusual foods I’m growing in my garden this summer.