 |
Where Does Your Food Come From? |
|
Author: Chris Jensen
Father asked her, Do you want a snack? "Yes". He took her to one of the small fruit trees and picked an apple for you. Here you go. Daughter said, "I don't want an apple." Father looked at the nearest trees, all peach trees not quite ripe. Well, we don't have anything else that's ready yet. "I want a banana." She pointed. "Make that tree give you one." That's not a banana tree, that's a peach tree. It only has peaches.
Eventually made our way back inside father's house for dinner. Afterward, we hiked over to a neighbor's farm a short distance away. Their real horses were terrifying to her; they were far larger than the 'my little ponies' in her room. When they eagerly leaned over the fence seeking sugar or apples, she clung tightly to me.
Seeking relief, she looked at all the animals in the field. Cattle, squirrels, what might have been a donkey, and a black and white beast. "What's that?" That's a cow, told her. She stared at it, not quite grasping the concept. What sound does a cow make? "Moo", she answered mechanically. And what sound does a horse make? "Neigh." That one over there was a horse. This is a cow.
What do you do with a horse? "You ride it", she answered, though she'd never been on horseback before. But that one eats apples.Yes. And do you know what cows do? she didn't know if she'd think of milk maids or cow tipping. "Do I ride it?", she asked. The cows must have seemed more friendly than the horse that had excitedly eaten the apples she'd offered it, seemingly swallowing her hand in the process. We get milk from cows."No, Mommy, we get milk from the store." No, Milk comes from cows. Steaks, too. "No, Mommy, milk comes from the store."
Started to hike back home as the sun set. Continued on this track, fish sticks come from fish. Where do fish come from? The pond at the park And where do apples come from? Trees. Tried to explain where many of our daily foods came from. She then started pointing at grass and shrubbery and asking what kind of food came from those plants.
A few nights later, we were having dinner. Daughter said, "We're having fish sticks for lunch." And where do fish sticks come from? "Fish." Then she brightened up and added, "And chicken comes from chicken nuggets!" What? I wasn't able to dissuade her of her 3 year old logic. The word chicken was shorter than chicken nuggets, so the chicken came from chicken nuggets. Fish came from the sticks of fish in the freezer.
Then daughter continued the discussion at preschool the next day. They agreed with her reasoning until lunch came. Her playmates were totally lost when she asked them where the sloppy joes on their plates came from.
Then a child asked, "But where did this food come from?" Their universal answer: all our food comes from the store.
Tags:
|
Print this page
