We Used to Pick Fruit

Ask a kid today where our food comes from and chances are the answer will be “the grocery store.” We’re so used to having everything outsourced from elsewhere and paying money for it. Perhaps that feels normal… like how it’s always been, in fact.

Most of us, however, know it’s not been this way. The Mayan Empire didn’t have paper currency. Granted, they used cocoa beans instead. The first counterfeit might have happened here actually. Imagine that! Because there were reports of ill-intentioned people making bean replicas.

Some seafaring cultures used shells as money. Anyone who could counterfeit those deserves a medal!

But anyway, there was still a time before all this. We used to have cooperative tribal cultures, where all edible plants and fruits were gathered - and meat was hunted in the field.

The only way to get fed was to obtain the food from your direct environment. It required energy and skill, and all hands working together.

So, next time you want to complain about the difficulty of modern life… about a slight delay… remember, we used to pick fruit.