Live And Learn
I cannot help noticing this woman and her child in the grocery store. Mom is super patient with this little boy who asks questions non stop.
She looks at me and we exchange a smile. I take the opportunity to praise Mom for being so patient. "Thank you. This is what he needs. He needs to ask questions so he can learn." Mom is very proud of her little boy. "Actually, he knows a lot of these things already. He just likes to ask anyways." She points at a shelf in the produce cooler and asks,"What are these?" The boy grabs a packet and answers loudly, "Baby carrots!'
I find it funny that he instinctively picks the little ones and calls them baby carrots. To engage the child, I ask, "So these are baby carrots. The bigger ones over there: Are they mommy carrots?" The boy happily nods. "That's right! These are babies and those are adults," his mommy says.
I am not sure how to take Mom's response because she seems to be kinda matter-of-fact about her statement. "Hey, Mommy! You know that isn't true, right?" "What is not true?" Mom turns to look at me. "The baby carrots," I point at the shelf. "They are not really babies. They are made from the large carrots." To my surprise, Mom is shocked. "What do you mean? You mean they are not really babies?" Mom looks shaken. "Then, what are they? I buy these baby carrots all the time. My son likes them. I also like them because they are so convenient to put in salads."
I go on to explain to Mom that the so-called baby carrots are just short carrot sticks shaved down from regular carrots. "The baby carrots and large carrots were actually the same things. The only difference between them is that, having lost the skin, the little shaved carrots are dipped in bleach water before they are packaged and then sold to you at a higher price."
The poor woman is frozen in place. "Bleach? I mean, sometimes I buy the large carrots, too, and I peel the skin . . ." "Well, if you peel them and eat them right away, that is ok. But, for companies to pack them, ship them and then place them in stores for you to buy, they need to treat the carrots so they do not rot. So, they use bleach."
I wonder if the poor woman hears me. She is so shocked that she just stands in place staring at the carrots with her mouth slightly open. But no words come out. I thought I was just sharing basic knowledge about commercial food processing with a fellow adult shopper. I didn't expect her to have such a hard time dealing with the truth. I didn't mean to terrify her. Her child looks at me and looks at Mom, wondering what is going on. He goes up to grab Mom's hand and that brings her back to life.
Mom dashes forward to grab a packet of baby carrots. "These baby carrots are ok. They are ok. We are going to have a salad tonight . . . " I hear her mumble. She walks away quickly with her son without looking back.
She looks at me and we exchange a smile. I take the opportunity to praise Mom for being so patient. "Thank you. This is what he needs. He needs to ask questions so he can learn." Mom is very proud of her little boy. "Actually, he knows a lot of these things already. He just likes to ask anyways." She points at a shelf in the produce cooler and asks,"What are these?" The boy grabs a packet and answers loudly, "Baby carrots!'
I find it funny that he instinctively picks the little ones and calls them baby carrots. To engage the child, I ask, "So these are baby carrots. The bigger ones over there: Are they mommy carrots?" The boy happily nods. "That's right! These are babies and those are adults," his mommy says.
I am not sure how to take Mom's response because she seems to be kinda matter-of-fact about her statement. "Hey, Mommy! You know that isn't true, right?" "What is not true?" Mom turns to look at me. "The baby carrots," I point at the shelf. "They are not really babies. They are made from the large carrots." To my surprise, Mom is shocked. "What do you mean? You mean they are not really babies?" Mom looks shaken. "Then, what are they? I buy these baby carrots all the time. My son likes them. I also like them because they are so convenient to put in salads."
I go on to explain to Mom that the so-called baby carrots are just short carrot sticks shaved down from regular carrots. "The baby carrots and large carrots were actually the same things. The only difference between them is that, having lost the skin, the little shaved carrots are dipped in bleach water before they are packaged and then sold to you at a higher price."
The poor woman is frozen in place. "Bleach? I mean, sometimes I buy the large carrots, too, and I peel the skin . . ." "Well, if you peel them and eat them right away, that is ok. But, for companies to pack them, ship them and then place them in stores for you to buy, they need to treat the carrots so they do not rot. So, they use bleach."
I wonder if the poor woman hears me. She is so shocked that she just stands in place staring at the carrots with her mouth slightly open. But no words come out. I thought I was just sharing basic knowledge about commercial food processing with a fellow adult shopper. I didn't expect her to have such a hard time dealing with the truth. I didn't mean to terrify her. Her child looks at me and looks at Mom, wondering what is going on. He goes up to grab Mom's hand and that brings her back to life.
Mom dashes forward to grab a packet of baby carrots. "These baby carrots are ok. They are ok. We are going to have a salad tonight . . . " I hear her mumble. She walks away quickly with her son without looking back.
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