Back to the basics

We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time. T.S. Eliot

Not all is improved in the modern world. I was having dinner with my great aunts one day and they recalled a time when they were children, in China. Their uncles would bring them fresh vegetables and grains from their farms every week. Since then the living conditions have improved and one of the things that caught on is refined flour. People like it since it tastes better. This article points out however, there is a simple explanation to this, the refining process makes the flour to have less protein and less fiber, so carbs (i.e. sugar) become more prominent, of course it tastes better.

People are becoming more aware of the nutritional value of more organic choices. I heard that there are three types of vegetables in China: the best is what they call "Green Vegetable", the next down is called "No Public Harm Vegetable", and then the worst are just called vegetable I guess. (I hate to be the guy to come home and say, "Guess what, honey? I didn't get paid again, so I guess it is the not-so-green-with-potential-harm vegetable for us today."

Since when did eating "No Public Harm Vegetable" became a luxury? Since we did our health? This is by no means unique to China. I've always feel penalized for wanting to eat better in US. Just go to Wholefoods or Wild Oats, a sack of groceries will cost you twice as much as the normal stuff.

I could never hide the fact that I am an outsider whenever I go visit my mom's side of the family in a Chinese village. Not only do I dress different, I am the only one overweight there. Working in the field all day with their hands and eating a meal of lots of vegetables and little meat (because meat is more expensive), they don't have to go to a gym after work to pump iron for a hour just to stay in shape. I couldn't help but wonder if this modern way of life is a bit of a stretch than what God has intended for us.

I love progress, I love many of the technologies that made our lives immensely better than it did 100 years ago. I am not asking for a throw back to the Stone Age. But not all progress is good and one needs to stop and think from time to time. Sometimes, it is good to go back to the basics.