from the bigdumbHoosier Archive - 06.24.2002
Strawberry fields forever
A recent IndyStar article, Finally, state acts to save farmland, touts very modest efforts to preserve prime farmland by purchasing development rights. The bigdumbHoosier can't help but recall Hal David's lyrics, Lord, we don't need another meadow, there are cornfields and wheat fields enough to grow... from the shagadelic classic, What the World Needs Now, (recorded by Jackie DeShannon, but that's another story).
I mean, preserving prime farmland is kind of like Mom and Apple Pie; who's going to say it's a bad idea? But, drive across Indiana sometime and tell me there's a shortage of cornfields. There are miles and miles of cornfields. Just about all of this corn goes to feed livestock; Americans eat too much meat anyway.
But, getting back to Mom's apple pie. I love apple pie, and strawberry pie, and raspberry preserves, and strawberry shortcake. And nutritionists will tell you that most of us don't eat enough fruit. My first job was picking strawberries. It was tedious, hot, sometimes buggy work, so don't think I'm glamorizing this stuff.
Today that strawberry field is gone, replaced by corn in the 90s. Regionally, the wonderful orchards that used to prosper on the east side of Lake Maxinkuckee have disappeared too, replaced by houses in that case. With government subsidies pouring into the corn production business, nobody wants to do the hard work of growing fruits and vegetables.
Here in the upper Midwest, conditions are excellent for growing berries in particular, but quite suitable for orchards as well. Even so, in the past couple of years I haven't even been able to get berries or fruit grown nearby. It's all corn and soybeans. The reason is simple; the government subsidizes these mechanically produced crops. Little government support goes to production of fruits, berries and vegetables grown for human consumption.
Preserving open space is a fine idea, but if tax dollars are going to go into preserving very limited amounts of farm land, it would be a lot more more beneficial to save orchards, vinyards, berry fields, and truck gardens. Crops for direct human consumption provide more jobs, contribute more to the rural quality of life, and enrich the landscape. Strawberry fields forever.
