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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2005-02-03, Page 5Other Views THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2005. PAGE 5. You say tomato; I say yuck... Come quickly! I am tasting the stars!” So spake a venerable Benedictine monk by the name of Pierre Perignon in a French vineyard nearly four centuries ago. He had just put to his lips a brand new variety of wine for the first time. The world would come to know this wine as champagne. I wonder what the old monk would say if I could guide him down the produce aisle of any modern Canadian supermarket and persuade him to bite into a ‘vine-ripened' imported tomato. My guess is he’d say something like: “Mon Dieu - 1 am tasting cardboard!” Most of our tomatoes at this time of year come from Florida. The Panhandle State ships out over a billion pounds annually and Canada is the number one export market. My question is ‘Why?’ Why do we continue to purchase and eat these tasteless blobs? Exactly what the hell have they done to the good old ‘love-apple’ that used to taste so fine? Actually, I can answer that question: they've graded them, just like eggs. A No. 1 tomato is firm, smooth-skinned and almost perfectly spherical. A No. 2 tomato is round and only slightly rough. A No. 3 is a just a little misshapen and perhaps ever so slightly blemished. Notice something missing there, kiddies? That’s right - taste. There are absolutely no points awarded for what a tomato does to your palate That's because ‘taste’ doesn’t even register on the agriculture industry’s radar screen. Residents with causes appeal to courts Dog owners are threatening to sue Ontario’s Liberal government, but they will have to stand in line. Individuals and organizations with many causes are queuing to challenge in court what they see as intrusions in their lives and a march toward a "nanny state.” Premier Dalton McGuinty may have to slip furtively out of side doors to avoid someone slapping another writ on him. Dog owners and breeders who oppose legislation to ban pitbulls have warned if it becomes law they will launch a court action to have it declared unconstitutional. The group says among many flaws the legislation does not define clearly what a pitbull is and the Constitution guarantees citizens the right to laws they can understand. The Liberals have designated a large area of south-central Ontario as greenbelt, preventing development on it for what they consider the public good. But owners seeing their values, and for some their future pensions, fall, are demanding compensation and threatening to sue if refused. The Liberals are stuck without an exit in their legal fight to limit toll increases on Highway 407 northwest of Toronto, which the previous Progressive Conservative government sold to private owners. A court has ruled there is nothing in the sales contract that requires the private owners to obtain government approval to raise tolls. But McGuinty promised a rollback and has declared his lawsuit will continue. Parents of autistic children have launched an action claiming the province is failing to fund adequately expensive therapy essential to give the children a meaningful education. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation has lost a suit in which it claimed McGuinty breached a contract because he signed an agreement with it in the 2003 election not to increase taxes, but raised them in his first budget. Government lawyers countered he was well- Arthur Black Over the past half century, plant engineers have busted their humps to breed new tomato varieties that have greater yields, hardier pest resistance and shorter growing seasons. But according to Donald Davis of the University of Texas Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, we paid a price for those ‘advances’. “When you select for yield,” says Davis, “crops grow bigger and faster, but they don’t necessarily have the ability to make or uptake nutrients at the same, faster rate.” Which means not only does the Brave New World tomato not taste anything like the tomatoes grandma used to grow, it's a pale reflection in the nutrition department as well. A study conducted by the aforementioned University of Texas concluded that a typical tomato grown today contains 40 per cent less vitamin C, 40 per cent less protein and 40 per cent fewer minerals than a tomato grown in 1950. No wonder they taste so bad. Solution? Easy. All Florida has to do is start shipping Joe Procacci’s tomatoes. Joe is a Florida tomato grower who does produce tomatoes just like grandma used to Eric Dowd From Queens Park intentioned in making his promise, but could not have known the Tory government would leave him a huge deficit, although everyone else saw it coming. Also an election promise is not a legal contract anyway. A business association has warned legislation under which the environment ministry could impose fines up to $100,000 a day on companies that allow pollutants to get in waterways is ripe for legal challenge. It would levy penalties without waiting for courts to determine blame and the group says this presumption of guilt could breach the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Legislation to ban smoking in bars among other public places from 2006 has upset owners who spent lavishly providing designated smoking areas that municipalities led them to believe would be adequate. They now warn this “will likely result in legal action.” Restaurants are poised to call their lawyers over the Liberals’ plan to allow diners to take their own wine to restaurants, an attempt to divert attention from real issues like Liberal broken promises. Restaurants are legally liable for acts by customers who drink too much and those who bring bottles will be more difficult to supervise and, if they cause problems, restaurants will itch to put the blame where it belongs. The Liberals have said they will ban hunts of deer and other wildlife in fenced-in areas because they are unethical and unsporting and operators are demanding compensation and grow. They’re luscious, succulent, aromatic and very, very popular. Just three years after Joe started marketing them to grocery stores, his sales tripled. Unfortunately, Joe’s tomatoes have one other characteristic that separates them from the others: they are ugly. Kinda lumpy and misshapen with irregular bumps and bulges. In fact the official name of the variety he created is the Ugly Ripe. And that's the problem. The Orlando-based Tomato Committee, which vets all tomatoes that leave the state, has banned the sale of Joe Procacci’s Ugly Ripes because they're, well, too ugly. The committee claims it hasn't banned Procacci’s produce at all. He just has to throw out the fruits that don’t come up to the Number 2 grade - you know - smooth-skinned, firm and almost perfectly round. Which is to say, pretty well every Ugly Ripe tomato Procacci grows. Last year, come harvest time, he ended up ploughing under more than 20 tons of tomatoes - every day. That’s why this winter you will search in vain at your supermarket for Procacci’s homely provender. The Ugly Ripe is not available. That is why the tomatoes you buy will uphold the tradition of winter store-bought tomatoes in Canada. They will slice well, fry nicely, stew adequately, keep indefinitely. And taste like mulched Yellow Pages. Nice and round, though. threatening to sue if they are forced out of business. Defence lawyers are trying to take the government to court on the claim it violates human rights by forcing prisoners to sleep on floors and restricting their access to exercise and legal counsel in overcrowded jails. The government is countering courts cannot micro­ manage jails. Courts already are clogged and judges and lawyers are complaining this is causing unfair delays in hearing cases. Lawyers also say in a new survey legal fees have increased tremendously over the past decade and out of proportion to the costs of other products and services. The Liberals are not making everyone happy, but a lot of lawyers are licking their lips. Letter THE EDITOR, I am writing to correct some misunderstandings reported in the edition of Jan. 27 “HE looks at library upgrades.” The Huron County Library Board has never recommended that the Brussels, Bayfield, or Zurich libraries be dosed. While the Zurich and Bayfield libraries are indeed open 20 hours a week (more in the summer in Bayfield), the Blyth, Brussels and Hensail libraries are not - yet; they are recommended to have 20 hours of service per week in this 2005 budget, which has not yet been passed by county council. Only the following branch libraries are open on Sunday afternoons: Clinton, Exeter, Goderich, Seaforth and Wingham. This service is especially enjoyed by families and students. Beth Ross County Librarian Huron County Library. Bonnie Gropp The short of it The patient patient I have crested the hill and am peering down the other side. What’s more important is that that uphill climb really Jiasn’t hurt me too bad thus far. Truly, health-wise I’ve been doing okay for my age. I still have all the original parts with only a few minor alterations here and there. One’s health can change in a heartbeat, I know. But for now things are ticking along just as they always have. I am grateful and unabashedly proud, though I can hardly claim responsibility. While I do have some lifestyle habits that perhaps contribute to my physical well being. I'd have to put most of the benefit down to plain old luck. Such good fortune means that 1 don't spend a lot of time in the doctor’s office. However. I am faithful about that annual checkup. Being in good health might seem to some that this regular visit is nothing but a waste of time, but I’ve never seen it that way. What could be sadder than hearing bad news about your health, followed by the statement, “If we’d just caught it sooner...’? There can always be surprises and if they ever turn up I want to hear about them as early as possible. So every year I make my appointment, faithfully, fitting it into the doctor’s schedule, of course, not mine. I often have to take time from work to travel to the clinic. I arrive early. Then I wait, and wait, and wait, patiently, because I believe this visit is one of the most important things I can do for me. Unfortunately, like all else in this life, I can only take control so far. Last October, knowing how far ahead my doctor is booked, 1 called to make an appointment for early May. I was told I'd have to call in the new year because they didn’t have the book for 2005. Last week I called again. This time 1 was told they were booked through to June, the doctors don’t do annual examinations in the summer, and tney don’t have the book for September yet. Unable to shoot the messenger 1 hung up, feeling rather frustrated. I ’ong ago accepted that in an emergency the doctor who treats me is not likely to be my own. Now apparently seeing him once a year for the examination he and his colleagues stress as being very important is difficult too. I’m old enough to remember fondly when seeing your doctor was more on your terms than his. Office hours were held in the evenings as well as during the day. And a house call for everything from indigestion to the measles was standard. I've generally tried to give doctors their due. Their education is exhausting. Dealing with life and death has to be stressful. The responsibilities are enormous. They are expected to be scientist and nurturer. able to understand the complexities of the hum,in body while administering to the spirit. For all of these reasons I have never begrudged them their status, economically, professionally or socially. I have defended them against people who think they have lost sight of what being a doctor means. But they don’t make it easy. I recently heard about a doctor in Louisiana. Dr. Mauterer has been a constant in his small town for 29 years, single-handedly keeping the hospital open, working round the clock, even donating his own blood to a patient when needed. Probably even does physicals in the summer. “1 can’t imagine anything more satisfying than being a country doctor,” he says. There, unfortunately, is something you don't hear every day.