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We were on the return trip from five days
at the lake. My father-in-law recommended we stop at “Tony's”
for breakfast. “Order the bacon and eggs.” He spread his
thumb and forefinger a little more than two inches apart. “They
pile the bacon on this thick. At least a pound.” After
three hours of driving (the total trip is 9 and a half), my wife
reminded me that this is the exit for Tony's “if you're ready
to eat.” Well it was about that time, so I pulled off.
The parking lot was crowded for ten in the
morning. The sign outside warned of Giant Sandwiches. “Smokin'
or non, hun?” asked the hostess, and we took our seat. Sure
enough, other diners had plates piled high with bacon. That's what
I ordered. The wife had the french toast. She ended up eating only
half of one of her three huge slices of egg coated toast. I managed
to stuff down the three eggs and about half the bacon. I left over
the two huge slices of bread that came with my dish. We put the
remaining bacon in a to-go container. Much of our order was thrown
away and we weren't the only ones. All during the meal the busboys
carried plate after plate of uneaten food into the kitchen. We paid
our bill - a reasonable $12, and went on our way. Big servings and
low prices sure do bring in the customers. I certainly bought in.
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We took ten CDs to play for our long road trip, but never listened to one.
On the way up we were entertained by tales of blackouts and crumbling
infra-structure. “Boil your water in
Cleveland.” “Cooling
stations for the elderly will be set up in these locations in Detroit..”
“We have the power grid of a third-world
nation.” On the way down we also chose
talk radio (mostly NPR) and heard of deadly bombings and eulogies for
UN envoys. Mixed in with the hard news was a one-hour discussion about
the Chesapeake Bay
Program. A now 20-year project to rejuvenate the bay and bring it
back from the brink of envi-ronmental disaster. Three expert mouths arguing
over who should do what and who hasn't done enough. Talk of dead zones
and oyster beds and run-off and nutrients. “We're
making progress but have a lot more to do.”
“Municipal treatment plants can install
modern technology and cheaply remove the nitrogen and phosphorus from
their effluent.” One guy pointed out
that municipal and industrial discharges were large, but it was the fertilizer
laden runoff from the watershed's lawns and farms that made the most notorious
contributions to the Bay's dilemma. This is where the discussion turned
to the very difficult politics involved with solving these kinds of problems.
“The government has to be decisive and
enact the tough regulations.” “People
are willing to pay higher taxes if it means a cleaner environment.”
Yeah right. How often do politicians who are for more taxes and stricter
regulations get re-elected?
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These aren't all small family farms. Much
of the acreage is managed by huge agri-businesses. They all do the
lobbying. They need the fertilizers to keep the production up and
costs down, so they stay in business and the consumer doesn't have
to pay too much for food. Cheap feed also raises cheap chicken and
pork. Unemployed farmers and consumers who pay too much for food
don't send their representatives back to Washington.
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The small, artsy, expensive, nouveau cuisine dishes were ridiculed off
the market several years ago. Now we have Tony's, who finds it profitable
to throw away half the food it serves. Mostly white bread, margarine,
and potatoes. If purchased in a supermarket, what was uneaten from our
dishes would cost less than 50¢. Why is it so cheap to produce food it
can be thrown away? Production of a commodity is a risky business. Large
volumes are needed to offset the small profit margins. You hope for one
good year to get you by the next three. Very efficient production methods
have evolved and the survivors use these methods. The methods include
the use of fertilizers. Excess fertilizer washes off the field and into
the ditch and then the stream. Now, instead of nourishing a crop of corn,
it feeds microbes in the river. Like us, the microbes consume oxygen.
These overfed bugs can use up all the oxygen dissolved in the water, creating
a dead zone. This is what causes schools of fish go belly up.
So, by polluting the bay, we can produce food cheap enough to throw away.
Maybe we need to pause here to consider whether it matters that the bay
gets polluted.
“Why should I care
that some rich Virginian gets some pond scum stains on his 50 foot yacht?”
“I don't even eat oysters.
They're gross looking and taste like snot.”
The simple and most reasonable argument here is the golden one. I wouldn't
like it if someone dumped their garbage on me; therefore maybe they wouldn't
like it if I dumped on them. Some would take another leap, and give the
ecosystem of a watershed similar rights and privileges. A civil society
respects the rights of everyone, from Virginia boaters to beds of oysters.
We are tough enough to pass laws against vandalism and disturbing the
peace. Why can't we take the tough action to restrict pollution caused
by food production? Government needs to step in when the best interest
of the many is not the same as the collective affect of the best interest
of the individuals. Accurately predicting such a conflict can often be
tricky. However, when food can be produced so cheaply that is discarded,
when at the same time production of food has a major environmental impact
it seems obvious that something needs to be done.
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