Farmer Jer came across an article in a farming magazine announcing the arrival of a new leaf lettuce. The lettuce, developed by geneticists, is known as MU06-857. When I heard that, I started wondering if maybe I’ve seen way too many movies because to me that lettuce name sounded more like a weapon or a droid or the license plate of a getaway car in some foreign film than lettuce.
MU06-857. What do all of those numbers and letters stand for? When did geneticists start dabbling in lettuce? Whatever happened to our food?
Whatever happened to names we can pronounce that don’t rival the small space in our brains reserved for storing our zip code? Lettuce names like Butterhead, Red Ridinghood, Bronze Arrow and Sweet Valentine (honestly, would you rather order MU06-857 or Sweet Valentine)?
Maybe you think names don’t matter? Try choking down a blood orange. Or feeding rump roast to an adolescent. Anyhoo.
Farmer Jer and I are suckers for names like Dark Lolla Rossa, Outredgeous and Parris Island Cos. However, when choosing seeds for our lettuce mix, we also look for proven flavor, variety of color, the shapes of leaves, and the texture that an individual lettuce will contribute to the overall combination. We gravitate toward heirloom. We purchase organic. But the main reason we buy what we buy and grow what we grow is because there is food worth eating, and food worth avoiding. We’re no experts on the subject, but when geneticists start tampering with food, it’s literally an experiment. We’re opting to stay in the control group, which is something you may want to think about as well.
Here at South Shoreganics, though spies at heart, we’ve decided to leave the encoded lettuce alone. After all, knowing and trusting the source of food is one of the most basic rules of espionage, as almost any movie-watcher would know.