by Lorie Reilly in Economy & Poverty, Environment and Open Space
Posted on October 20, 2010 at 12:37 pm
Last Modified on October 20, 2010 at 2:19 pm
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Allow me to set forth these facts as the context for my question:
- The New York Times reports that the poverty rate in America is the highest it has been in 15 years, with one in seven people living in poverty.
- In 2008, Feeding America reports that 49.1 million Americans lived in food insecure households, and these numbers continue to grow.
- Circle of Blue continues to find evidence that the US is facing a serious scarcity in freshwater resources.
- American Farmland Trust documents the alarming rates at which we are losing prime farmland to development.
- And the world’s finite supply of fossil fuels continues to be depleted and converted to climate-changing atmospheric carbon.
Given these circumstances, what do you think about using over 40,000 acres of farm land, 20-24 inches of rain/irrigation water, and countless barrels of fuel to plant, cultivate, harvest, and ship a fruit that is primarily purchased for the purpose of being decorated, displayed in the front yard until it’s smashed in the street or overcome with rot and mold, and then thrown unceremoniously in the trash?
I love the beautiful glowing orange of candlelit pumpkins on an autumn eve as much as anyone, but I must say that the resources required for this bit of pleasure do give me pause. I was raised with the stern dictum not to “play with my food.” And in some ways this seems like the worst kind of playing with food. The variety of pumpkin that is grown is chosen for its decorative rather than culinary quailities. It’s grown in a way that optimizes its size (requiring even more water and nutrients). And there’s no intention of eating it after the playing is done. Mightn’t we refrain from using these resources or use them in a way that benefits fellow citizens living with their own sensations of hollowness?
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a thousand times yes and Thanks, Lorie Reilly!!! Can we “flip it” to feed tummys instead?
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The best way to respond to the bad taste of pumpkins for decoration only is to re-use them well. Cool nights don’t hurt for a few days’ display, and scraping wax from candles is easy. Then use any of about two dozen great recipes here http://tinyurl.com/2avs8y9 to transform the discussion.
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Yum, pumpkin soup! Couple thoughts:
Farmers grow what they can sell, for the most part. Local farmers whose livelihood depends on what they can sell, will sell their property to developers, contributing to rather than lessening urban sprawl. Pumpkin patches, like Christmas tree farms, suck carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, significantly more effectively than suburban lawns. Organically grown pumpkins do not pollute our aquifers the way suburban lawns do, either.
After the event. I hope people will compost rather than dumping pumpkins into the trash, if they can’t go the pumpkins soup route. Christmas trees are being used for preventing dune erosion on the Cape and Islands. In Somerville I think they get ground into mulch, but I’m not sure of that.
It does make sense to me to find out about and encourage production of (more)edible pumpkins, and to buy them from local organic farms. I buy local not so much because of the fuel needed for shipping from abroad, but because I want to do whatever I can to protect New England farmland from development.
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how about this variation on pie:
CREAM CHEESE – PUMPKIN PIE
9″ unbaked pie shell
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
Combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Add egg; mix well. Spread in bottom of pie shell.
1 1/4 c. canned or cooked pumpkin
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2 eggs
1 c. evaporated milk
Combine pumpkin, sugar and spice. Beat in eggs and milk carefully. Pour over cheese mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Cool.
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Excellent! !!
I will be coming back soon, thanks . I intend to bookmark
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