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This is true, so how do other parts not have access to a lot of what Californians do? If we ship what is grown here, then don't people have access to much of the same foods we do since we are shipping it to them? A bit of a contradiction. I'm sure we have some things here that aren't as widely available elsewhere, but a lot of it is since we ship so much of it out.
So is Mexican food! A look how many Californians eat that.
Also we are forgetting that this is not limited to the coastal urban areas, but the whole state. Do you honestly think the majority of people in places like the Central Valley are eating more like people in SF or more like people in GA? CA has PLENTY of areas that rival the heating habits and lifestyle of Georgia. We tend to focus too much on popular urban areas. This state isn't just SF, LA, and SD with people eating the freshest food and at the finest restaurants. Fresno, Sacramento, Bakersfield, etc.. yeah we tend to forget those parts.
I don't buy that contradiction. We keep the best for ourselves and ship the best to farmers markets accross the state, reaching the destinations within several hours. The rest gets shipped across the globe, but may take up to a week to get there. Freshness, taste, and nutrition suffer by the time it gets to the destinations across the globe.
This includes things that are ~100% grown here. There's not argument to be made imo. Like I said in earlier posts, from thier comments, it sounds like people in other parts of the country have absolutely no concept of what fresh figs/dates/persimmons/artichokes taste like. So bad that they assume "dried" is the only way we get them. There's no way this kind of stuff would survive the 3000 mile trek, or it would be prohibitively expensive (and still taste unfresh after it gets there). And this is a small list.
CA wins. This is the most rational argument possible.
And we don't mention Sacramento, Bakersfield, or Fresno because just the Los Angeles metro on its own in quality and quantity, including variety, breadth, and depth probably already beats the entire state of Georgia. Everything else is just gravy.
Last edited by Rhymes with Best Coast; 01-22-2010 at 02:00 PM..
sav858,
Sacramento is a foodie town these days. There are plenty of really good restaurants there and the scene is pretty sizable.
I ate out 3-5 times a week when I was living there at all sorts of restaurants and I was very pleased with the selection and quality.
Im not sure about Fresno or Bakersfield but California has very high standards when it comes to restaurants and Im sure that has trickled inland from the coastal areas of SF, LA and SD. In the case of Sac, I know it has.
California is not the unique snowflake you seem to think it is. Every state has farmer's markets where those same types of items can be found. Most big cities have Whole Foods or Trader Joe's as well as local organic grocers and co-ops.
It's true every state has those things, but in CA theres more of them than most and they can be found everywhere, not just farmer's markets or specialty stores. Also, the quality standards are very high.
I don't buy that contradiction. We keep the best for ourselves and ship the best to farmers markets accross the state, reaching the destinations within several hours. The rest gets shipped across the globe, but may take up to a week to get there. Freshness, taste, and nutrition suffer by the time it gets to the destinations across the globe.
Saying CA ships food out to everyone then saying that a lot of that food is only found in CA is a contradiction. I wasn't specifically talking about the freshness, I was talking about AVAILABILITY of it and clarified that in a subsequent post. Again the freshness thing I wasn't even arguing that much, in the case of availability of products it is a contradiction.
But even with the freshness, some of you act like local farm and farmers markets don't exist outside of CA. Sure they might not be able to get everything we can YEAR ROUND from a local market, but the fact of the matter is there are farmers markets everywhere offering produce just as fresh as anywhere in CA. again, this place is not the end all be all when it comes to fresh produce and farmers markets. Lets not forget Florida is the source of much of the nation's winter produce and is a lot closer to GA than we are.
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This includes things that are ~100% grown here. There's not argument to be made imo. Like I said in earlier posts, from thier comments, it sounds like people in other parts of the country have absolutely no concept of what fresh figs/dates/persimmons/artichokes taste like. So bad that they assume "dried" is the only way we get them. There's no way this kind of stuff would survive the 3000 mile trek, or it would be prohibitively expensive (and still taste unfresh after it gets there). And this is a small list.
CA wins. This is the most rational argument possible.
I never said CA didn't win and have repeatedly said I think CA is better overall. I just think some of you are acting like the average Californian is some foodie who goes to local farmers markets and gets the freshest, most organic produce that was picked off the vine 2 seconds ago when that is not true at all. For some people yes but for the AVERAGE Californian, not really.
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And we don't mention Sacramento, Bakersfield, or Fresno because the quality and quantity, including breadth and depth probably already beats the entire state of Georgia. Everything else is just gravy.
And you know this from experiance? "Quality"? Have you seen the factory farms in that area? You really think the large corporate factory farms all over CA are automatically better than smaller, family owned farms more common in other states? Being in CA doesn't automatically make it quality at all.
We don't mention Bakersfield, Sac, and Fresno b/c we have a dirty little secret that middle CA is not much different than middle America.
If southern fare is you know, all you want to know, or all you will ever know, I can understand voting for Georgia. That's your comfort food, your home base, totally understandable.
For example:
Same way a person in South Korea will only like rice with kimchee, maybe with chop chae, kalbi or bulgogi on the side.
Try exposing them to a little Mexican, Italian, French, Thai, Indian, Peruvian, Lebanese, Greek, Salvadorean, or even American and they don't know what do with themselves, and revert to "I'll just have kimchee mode." I know from experience.
Is kimchee considered the best? Absolutely not. But maybe it is for that one person. Fine. If you're a big fan, by all means stick to what you know, but there's a far bigger world out there, especially when it comes to food. I like to look at things on a global, universal, international scale, kinda like what California is all about.
Last edited by Rhymes with Best Coast; 01-22-2010 at 02:50 PM..
I read it on here and someone had a link that showed it was true, I can't find that article or something that specifically says that right now but you got the internet so I'm sure you could search and verify the information yourself. In the few minutes I did spend trying to find the info this is what I found: Large Florida Grower Steps up for Farm Workers South Florida's a winter vegetable standout
Okay, I never claimed it wasn't, I was talking about FLORIDA, which is much warmer than CA overall and can grow things that this state cannot.
The distance from farms in FL to GA can be the same distance between CA cities and the farms here.
What does that have to do with availability? And like I said before, there are local farms everywhere where you can get fresh produce.
That's probably b/c you seem unaware of Ca's corporate factory farms. Look at the data, other states have more farms but CA has more acreage. Our farms tend to be huge factory farms not small, independent locally owned ones.
Are you serious? Pot calling the kettle black here? All you have been doing is making generalizations and have not provided any facts either, get real already. You're young and have been outside of Ca what, once in your life? Try getting out more.
What can Florida grow that California can not? Just curious. Then answer the question what can California grow that Florida can not? You will find that the list of what can be grown in California & not Florida is very very long. It is not just warmth but moisture content. Most nuts for example need a dry warm climate not found in the humid South. Same with grapes & numerous other crops. The variety of what can be produced in California overshadows any other state & not the other way around as you suggest.
California does have small farmers [something you would know if you traveled around the state to places like the Imperial valley\ Salinas valley\ Santa Maria valley\ Santa Clarita valley, etc.]. I'm wondering if you know your know your state and suggest you do some extensive study or travel in California.
I haven't been outside California much but that doesn't mean I have no knowledge of what's going on outside the state. We learn from facts not just experience that may be limited anyway.
What can Florida grow that California can not? Just curious. Then answer the question what can California grow that Florida can not? You will find that the list of what can be grown in California & not Florida is very very long. It is not just warmth but moisture content. Most nuts for example need a dry warm climate not found in the humid South. Same with grapes & numerous other crops. The variety of what can be produced in California overshadows any other state & not the other way around as you suggest.
California does have small farmers [something you would know if you traveled around the state to places like the Imperial valley\ Salinas valley\ Santa Maria valley\ Santa Clarita valley, etc.]. I'm wondering if you know your know your state and suggest you do some extensive study or travel in California.
I haven't been outside California much but that doesn't mean I have no knowledge of what's going on outside the state. We learn from facts not just experience that may be limited anyway.
What can Florida grow that California can not? Just curious.
Coconute, mangos, other tropical fruits and vegetables to name a few. But my point was due to it's warmer climate it can grows things CA cannot IN WINTER, or pretty much any other state except for HI. I probably should have clarified that.
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Then answer the question what can California grow that Florida can not? You will find that the list of what can be grown in California & not Florida is very very long. It is not just warmth but moisture content. Most nuts for example need a dry warm climate not found in the humid South. Same with grapes & numerous other crops. The variety of what can be produced in California overshadows any other state & not the other way around as you suggest.
I never claimed that Ca didn't grow more products than FL and never suggested that at all, try not inferring things that aren't there.
And grapes can grow outside of CA in humid climates, they are grown all across the country from Buffalo to North Carolina.
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California does have small farmers [something you would know if you traveled around the state to places like the Imperial valley\ Salinas valley\ Santa Maria valley\ Santa Clarita valley, etc.]. I'm wondering if you know your know your state and suggest you do some extensive study or travel in California.
Did I ever say Ca didn't have small farmers? NO. Reading comprehensions helps here, I said CA has a ton of large corporate factory farms. That doesn't suggest that small farms don't exist here at all. The farms in Ca are bigger on average than farms elsewhere due to the presence of large factory farms. I suggest you do a little research and travel a bit b/c you seem completely unaware of this fact.
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I haven't been outside California much but that doesn't mean I have no knowledge of what's going on outside the state. We learn from facts not just experience that may be limited anyway.
Macadamia nuts are tropical & are grown commercially in San Diego county. There used to be a banana plantation outside La Conchita beach. Guava & papaya are grown in people's yards but I don't think are produced commercially in California. I'm sure there are many more crops. I would suspect that Florida can grow more tropical crops because it is nearly tropical. We once visited the Fruit & Spice farm in Miami & I know that many things growing there can not be commercially grown in California [ie. breadfruit].
Dates are subtropical and can only be grown in California & Arizona; same with pistachio nuts.
Coconute, mangos, other tropical fruits and vegetables to name a few. But my point was due to it's warmer climate it can grows things CA cannot IN WINTER, or pretty much any other state except for HI. I probably should have clarified that.
I never claimed that Ca didn't grow more products than FL and never suggested that at all, try not inferring things that aren't there.
And grapes can grow outside of CA in humid climates, they are grown all across the country from Buffalo to North Carolina.
Did I ever say Ca didn't have small farmers? NO. Reading comprehensions helps here, I said CA has a ton of large corporate factory farms. That doesn't suggest that small farms don't exist here at all. The farms in Ca are bigger on average than farms elsewhere due to the presence of large factory farms. I suggest you do a little research and travel a bit b/c you seem completely unaware of this fact.
Real knowledge is gained from experiance imo.
I know that coconut palms can grow in California but I don't think they produce nuts. Mangoes grow in California but I don't think there are farm orchards. Grapes do grow outside California & fairly well in states like Oregon & Washington. But the variety & quality of grapes [both for eating & for wine] in California can not be matched in any other state. That is another thing I would expect a Californian to know [why don't you know that?]. Agriculture is the biggest industry in California & there is no where else inside the U.S. or the world that grows the amount of crops grown here. Frankly, as a Californian you should be embarrassed by your lack of knowledge [no offense just stating facts].
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