The Price of Cheese In China And US Presidential Election

There are a few that are totally remarkable. You can look them up. Africa and Berlin are two of the most significant. How about a billion pounds of food being delivered to those who need it? That means that some conglomerate of peoples harvested and sent their food around the world to where it was needed. That is amazing. Excuse me for not mentioning the billions of pounds of food in smaller million pound increments to aid in disaster from Louisiana to Somalia. It is astonishing our abilities to help those in extreme need.

We are faced with a strange situation now with fleeing people from war torn areas of our planet. We have the complete capacity to bring food and shelter and safety to those who must run from war. It is really strange that we do not do that and instead invite them to flock to other areas. Bizarre that we practice this idea of moving the body to the refuge rather than creating one where they live. Walls and barriers do no good in such reality. For the gates in are open but the gates in for relief are closed. That is just very weird.

What has happened to us? We accept the concept of people fleeing but not the concept of making it safe for them where they are? Take a good look the cost is the same or even more so in the direction of making here safe rather than making there safe. Did you know that about as many American military people were killed or injured in general operations since Desert Storm as on a battlefield? Truth be told, the deaths and injuries during war since Vietnam fall way short of the number that just die anyway during active duty? Throw in drug addiction deaths, suicides and gang shootings and it is not even anywhere close, The amount of soldiers killed in battle dwarfs when it comes to colon cancer deaths.

This notion that going into a war torn nation and creating safe zones is just terrible because of the risk of loss of life, was created in the late '60's mainly by a couple of guys named Rather and Conkrite. And when they did it, it was fully justified, because we were not creating safe zones but rather trying to create unsafe zones for one side.Just think about West Berlin and the famed Green Zone. Think of Israel. And indeed South Korea. We have the capacity just not the will because of how it plays out in the news cycles.

So now let us open our eyes to the price of cheese in China.

In 1978 I had occasion to spend many days on a golf course in Guadalajara Mexico. The home was a ranch style small mansion. The cleaning and gardening was done by members of two families. They had Saturday and Sunday off from work. Their living quarters at the home were very nice bungalows with amenities. They were Native Mexicans. I forget the tribe or ejito name. But my wife grew fond and insisted we take them home one Friday. They in turn asked us to stay for dinner. Some of the homes had slab floors. Most did not. Cooking was done outside on Mesquite charcoal. I only picked out about 10 adults but I swear there were 4,000 children, well a lot anyway ;-) Oh my goodness the food was perfect and so much of it. The children were just non-stop play and laughing and singing. The Mescal we men had afterword was as smooth as silk.

You know my question already. It answers easily. Why would they leave the mansion to go home to dirt floors and only one spigot for running water? And we all know the answer. Family and community. Well we returned Monday morning for fresh tortillas and tamales. It was where our hearts landed. Turned out that the gracious owners of the home we were in provided Medical and food to the community.

What was the price of our tortillas and tamales in the village? Actually back then only centavos and not even pesos - small. What was the cost of the food? In order to get stone ground tortillas from corn just feet away, and Tamales with that same corn and a pig raised right next to the corn and peppers fresh off the vine the expertise to make it just right; it took poverty. Isn't that hard core but real? Of course now over thirty years later with organic and neighborhood growers we begin to go back to poverty right here in the US.

So I ponder the question of what is the cost of the abundant mass produced food we have now. Certainly not poverty. As my Navajo buddies liked to tell me, the price is the earth and the earth is our mother.

So what is the price of my beautiful genetically modified food, and what is the cost?

In Southeast Asia until just the last couple of decades, they had a real dearth of dairy. Cheese concepts were brought in by the French. But that was more for the rich. Milk was quite rare. For both storage reasons and supply. So there I was kicking back on a sidewalk outside a river front cafe on the Mekong. One of those Cafe' Su Dats in my cup and fresh Mango and Dragon fruit and Dura. They brought me a plate of shrimp. Fully with shells and tails. I am starting to peel them and a very old lady comes over and wags her finger at me - no! And shows me to eat them with the shell. My then fiance' giggles politely and tries to explain that the shell is good for me. I had to look it up later, because I really don't like shells.

The lack of fresh dairy in their diet leaves them calcium deficient. But being all knowing they simply replace that calcium by eating the shells. Along with protein. But we have taught them to eat them without shells and buy conglomerate milk. What is the price? What is the cost?

Sorry but cheese in China might not make a whole lot of sense. The cost just might be to big even if the price is low. Now I think most adults know that they indeed have cheese in China, even on their cheeseburgers. Makes me wonder what came first, large dairy farms or Western Cuisine. We seem to create a demand for whatever works for us. What price is that cheeseburger in China and what cost.

Let me just raise this one as the mere mention of the cost of demand is so much more than the price. OIL.

I am an old school educated environmentalist. An old Boy Scout buddy and I were messaging each other with trying to figure out how many trees we have planted and we decided that we could do about 200 a day minimum. And total we had spent about a week doing it. Cool. So between us probably about 3K. I drove by a place with my son this fall. They were clear cutting trees. Of course for more highway. And it struck me that nearly fifty years ago I had planted some of them after a fire went through the area. At what cost our highways. I think were were planting them next to a small road to enhance the beauty. Just above Sedona.

I have 3 adult children all smarter than me. I love them. I am 59. I thought about voting for president and asked their considered opinions. They all started on a tirade. I told them to remember who they spoke to and the audience was smarter than whipped out party line and media crap. A asked them could they just speak to the why's and not the why nots. It took some deep breathes but we agreed on what values were important to us.

I paused as they spoke extremely well informed on the issues. And then a weird concept hit me. Should I vote as they wish? Oh being dad and much older I certainly know what is best for my country. But then I reflected that I already had things placed in trust for them. My decisions on such matters is for their future not mine. Perhaps us, who have created much including a wilting earth and civil unrest should stop telling the young ones what to do and start doing as they decide. It is their future after all. I know that sounds like not taking responsibility. So be it. But it seems to me that my generation has chosen yet not paid the cost or price. Perhaps since they will be paying for the sins of their father, I should let them decide how to pay for them.