Wendell Berry and Miniature Vegetables

January 29, 2016 Sue Martin

We have neglected the truth that a good farmer is a craftsman of the highest order, a kind of artist.

Wendell Berry <figure data-orig-height="865" data-orig-width="1300"><img src="https://68.media.tumblr.com/e2b6c237761901e12fadcc942b489154/tumblr_inline_o1nepjvqx21qe4h21_540.jpg" data-orig-height="865" data-orig-width="1300"/></figure>From NPR’s food blog <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/01/25/461704617/meet-the-most-pampered-vegetables-in-america" target="_blank">The Salt</a>, January 25, 2016: <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/01/25/461704617/meet-the-most-pampered-vegetables-in-america" target="_blank">Meet the Most Pampered Vegetables in America</a> “What we’re trying to do is offer new colors of paint to the chef. It’s not just about color … it’s flavor and texture. It needs to taste good, and if it doesn’t it has no place," —Lee Jones, who runs <a href="http://www.chefs-garden.com/" target="_blank">Chef’s Garden</a> with his father and brother. <figure data-orig-height="865" data-orig-width="1300"><img src="https://68.media.tumblr.com/ff070191cff9be347595c14d460875a0/tumblr_inline_o1ng0fd2ED1qe4h21_540.jpg" data-orig-height="865" data-orig-width="1300"/></figure>There’s something weirdly fascinating about this enterprise. Food as art? When so many go without even the most basic nourishment. And the food miles for these specialty vegetables.<blockquote>Nearly all the vegetables that leave here by truck or airplane reach kitchens within a day of coming out of the ground.Shipping vegetables from Ohio to California or New York or Florida means these vegetables most certainly won’t be local once they reach diners. They’ll have quite a few additional greenhouse gas emissions attached to them, too. </blockquote><figure data-orig-height="466" data-orig-width="700"><img src="https://68.media.tumblr.com/177cdc5c65c949667bfc991205a0107d/tumblr_inline_o1ng1gXk7z1qe4h21_540.jpg" data-orig-height="466" data-orig-width="700"/></figure><figure data-orig-height="1305" data-orig-width="1300"><img src="https://68.media.tumblr.com/e067ef715d9fdbfd91f64ec8e4fda95d/tumblr_inline_o1ngalrFIF1qe4h21_540.jpg" data-orig-height="1305" data-orig-width="1300"/></figure>Photo credits: NPR’s food blog, The Salt