Bananas!

The Messiah has arrived in Milwaukee, and of course, I mean Whole Foods. It's interesting to see how people react to the supermarket. Some seem to feel the satisfaction that Milwaukee is now respected enough to be graced by the Whole Foods chain. Some people are upset that another corporation is going to stamp out the local "alternative" grocery stores. And then there's another group of people that don't seem to care. I fit in the third group.

I stayed away for a month or so to let the crowds lessen, but eventually I realized that I had to make the trip just to keep up with pop Milwaukee-culture. After dinner one evening I decided to walk to Whole Foods, which is a 20-25 minute walk. I needed bananas and I was open to buying something else if it caught my eye - maybe some ketchup. Haha, who am I kidding? It's all the preservatives in ketchup that make it good.

Anyway, I felt strange in Whole Foods. But it wasn't the store that made me feel strange; it was the other people. They seemed to be there for a reason besides grocery-shopping. I think they wanted to prove that they are beyond traditional supermarkets. They care about the hormones pumped into the cows, from which they get their milk. They want to recognize the ingredients of the orange dye applied to the organic cheese puffs. The don't want to eat gluten! But I think they also want to show that they can afford it.

I've found a way to give my grandmother a heart attack. Show her the price of organic bananas. And then tell her that I paid that price. And threw one of them away when it had too many bruises. She doesn't even know that "organic" is pretty meaningless when it comes to bananas too. She would, however, be pleased that I received a 10 cents credit for bringing my own bags.

The upside of the Whole Foods arrival, though, is that it has started a dialogue regarding our food sources. I have decided to switch to organic milk. I did a paper in college on female hormones. During my research I was surprised to learn how much estrogen et al. is used in the dairy industry and then passed into the environment, usually in the water systems. It has a big impact on fish populations, but I forget exactly how. I'm also considering joining a CSA, community supported agriculture. By joining, I'll receive a weekly CSA box, filled with vegetables from a local farm! Some of the vegetables I'd be unfamiliar with, but I've always felt that I need more chard in my life.