Same shirt, different day

Listening to : Brooke Fraser playlist (I've got a crush)

Have you ever wondered when you see that apple at the grocery store and ask yourself, "How fresh is that granny smith apple?" Have you ever wondered and stood there watching the produce clerk and say"How fresh is it?" Well here is something to think about when you go to your local grocery store.

CA or Controlled Atmosphere. Is an agricultural storage method. An atmosphere in which oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen concentrations are regulated, as well as temperature and humidity. Fresh fruits, most commonly apples and pears, where the combination of altered atmospheric conditions and reduced temperature allow prolonged storage with only a slow loss of quality. http://www.bestapples.com/facts/controlled.html

Did you know that you might have on your kitchen table a year old apple or pear. That the apple you ate was picked and packaged a year ago? I've known this for awhile, working in produce for the last 4 years. It's something that I've kinda known as one of those weird facts that you know and oddly bring up at a party that you were invited to where you know no one except for the the person who dragged you along because they needed someone to fall back on if things got awkward. Like this fact, Did you know that at least 5 spiders crawl into your mouth in your lifetime while you sleep? Okay I don't know the exact number but I've heard that one and others have confirmed that fact.

Back to my CA...

So there are CA storages in the state of Washington. Where your local grocery giant orders and gets your Gala, Breburn, Granny, Fuji, Golden & Red Delicious apples etc. Thousands upon thousand of apples sitting and waiting to be shipped 6-8 months later from when they were picked. Because of the controlled gases such as Carbon dioxide, Nitrogen concentrations etc. the apples can last longer and won't spoil after 8 months of sitting and waiting to be eaten.

Aside: I realize what I do in this world may indirectly or directly effect the course of another persons life. I believe we are all connected somehow.

All these apples that are stored away so we can eat apples year round are horded in these storages while children, people, moms, dads, boys and girls are starving. Why are we storing apples that can be shipped around the world and feed so many refugees, homeless, children, and families.

There are so many problems and issuses that contiune to make those who are privledge to make our heads spin a million times over. But like my aside mentions... take for consideration that the choices we make can indirectly or directly effect a person you may never have thought in the first place.

I'm guilty and I'm not trying to put blame on anyone particular. Me, myself and I contribute to the major problem. But I take this into consideration.

Thanks to Dan the elderly man who comes to visit our produce department from time to time to chat it up with me and take up 30mins of my time a shift. It's always eaiser to pass time at work with a good conversation. Food for thought.