Some time ago, my wife and I brought some freshly purchased frozen green beans to my in laws' house for dinner. They were purchased in the new "Wild Harvest" section at our local (read proximity only) Hannaford's grocery store. The bag had several wonderful pastoral images on it. Pictures of freshly harvested green beans were accompanied by a sunset silhouette of a farmer carrying a basket of produce. The logo, which said "Woodstock Farms", lead us to believe that these beans must have come from Vermont. Green beans from the green mountains perhaps? On another part of the bag was a peaceful affirmation:
Seasonality: Harvesting crops at the height of ripeness, bringing them straight to market and shortening the distance from the farm to you, preserves the flavor and freshness of each season. Eating food in season honors the rhythms of nature's cycles.
I turned over the package to read the nutritional facts and kill some time when the phrase, "Product of China", popped out at me. After realizing that they were not referring to the packaging I was dumbfounded (I could have said speechless, but I am seldom without speech.) "Shortening the distance from the farm to you" was a little bit of a stretch. You can't find a farm much farther from me than one in China. You can be sure that this summer we will be planting a few more rows of green beans for our freezer. Perhaps if I have some extra, I'll send them over to that organic farmer in China to say thanks.
One more thing, they were called Baby French Beans. If we still aren't getting along with the French I wonder if they should be renamed Baby Freedom Beans. And yes, the beans were rather tasty. Lesson learned.
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