Ice Cream and Pie.

Five years ago, when I saw no error or consequences in organic foods, my science teacher did the unthinkable. He created a science project in which one group would argue for ORGANIC food, and one group would argue for GM food. I was in the group for GM food, and I was utterly speechless. My narrow mind believed that there was NO SUCH THING as a negative side to organic farming. It was like telling me that I didn't exist. I'm not sure what I said in the debate [probably something with a lot of eye rolling], but I remember that one of my group members said "Well...GM food makes food taste good. Like, carrots actually taste like CARROTS".

This is something I thought of today when I got back from the Eco-Reps meeting. What defines the taste of food? I'm currently eating tempeh. I think a piece of tempeh tastes like tempeh [I'm still relatively new to eating it], but how would I describe it to TJ? TJ tried tempeh for the first time today, and I was trying to get her to eat it. I said that "it tastes kinda fishy... and nutty..." but tempeh does NOT taste fishy or nutty. Today, the tempeh in my sandwich tastes like cattle slices. But that may be because I associate mustard with cattle slices. I mean, the first time I tried tempeh, it tasted like fish, but that maybe have been due to the sauce [tomato? I don't think I've ever had tomato sauce with fish before, though...].

Last Friday I ate a lot of ice cream and pie. This only happens when I eat meals with people [which is why, perhaps, I should start being a hermit]. I'd never had egg nog ice cream before [actually, I've never had egg nog. I've had egg nog soymilk, though], so I asked what it tasted like. "It tastes like egg nog", TJ replied.

So, if egg nog ice cream tastes like egg nog, why is there such thing as egg nog ice cream? Egg nog is some gelatinous type custard, right? So is ice cream... except colder. So, I guess the question is also about texture, and not just about taste.

However, someone decided to come along and say that people don't enjoy food as much if they eat it in the dark. I personally disagree, but I personally think/obsess over food more than the "general population".

Anyway, I think I started digressing.

If carrots do taste better after modification [after all, GM corn is sweeter and juicier], then what is the negative side? A loss of nutrients, perhaps, but evolutionarily speaking, haven't we evolved so that we can get our nutrients through foods? Why would we pick bland carrots over flavourful carrots? We wouldn't. But, the bland carrots are the ones that have more nutrients...according to various sources that tell me that organic farming is healthier for both myself and the environment. I suppose a counter-argument would be that humans like to eat sweet stuff because of the calories which we needed, way back when people ate once every few days instead of once every few hours. But what about texture? One can't generalise on that; we like moist, soft apple pie filling, but we dislike squishy peaches and overripe bananas [which, by the way, are also very. Very. Sweet.]... but they have similar macronutrient profiles [SUGAR SUGAR SUGAR!!!]

So, my Goldfish cracker obsession for the past two weeks still hasn't receded.