Apr 15, 2008

Trip to France Piques Curiosity About French Agriculture

Went to France a few weeks ago. No big deal. Just your average vacation.

Average vacation? Come on, man. Not many people get to go to Europe.

What about people who live in Europe?

You know what I mean.

You’re right. It was pretty awesome. We saw Paris, Laval, Caen, Bayeux, Omaha Beach, Arromanches and Nantes, among other places.

See any cool museums or monuments in Paris?

Are you kidding me? They’ve got tons over there. How about Sacre Coeur basilica, the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame cathedral, the Eiffel Tower, Les Invalides (Napoleon’s tomb), the Louvre, the Musee Rodin.…

Oh, come on. That’s all typical tourist stuff. Did you get in any interesting corners and find out how the real people live?

A little bit. We stayed at this old hotel, I think in the north part of the city. It was the kind of place that had one toilet per floor. You haven’t lived until you’ve tried it.

Was that awkward?

Not really. I never saw anybody else. Movie quote: “They had one of those old-fashioned toilets, you know, with the box and the chain?”

Duh. “The Godfather.” Was it really like that?

Yeah. It was old. But anyway, you were asking about real people. Well, nothing can be real without agriculture. We did a lot of walking around, of course, and on one street there was this really long farmers’ market. There were all kinds of fruits and vegetables.

Did you buy anything?

Yeah. I bought trois pommes (three apples) for me and my companions. I had a hard time figuring out how much they cost, since the vendor didn’t speak English. Fortunately, my French-speaking friend translated for us, though even she had a hard time understanding him due to his “thick North African accent.”

How was your apple?

It was OK. Not the freshest apple I’ve ever had.

Did you get to experience any more French agriculture?

A little bit. On a train heading west, from Paris to Laval, I got to see the countryside. It wasn’t that much different than the American countryside I’m used to, except here and there were some massive wind turbines. Oh, and they’re really into abricots (apricots) over there, I noticed. They put them in all kinds of jams, jellies and spreads. Movie quote: “That’s the thing about Europe, is the little differences. They got everything we do over here; but over there it’s just a little different.”

Oh, wait. I know this one. Let me see… “Pulp Fiction?”

Well done. So anyway, we get into Laval and see your typical French town: beautiful cathedral, a big old castle, medieval bridge, even some kind of aqueduct. I’m not sure how old that was. We saw the same stuff in Caen – but whatever. No big deal. I recommend the Bayeux Tapestry, though. It’s really long. The U.S. graveyard at Omaha Beach is something to see, as well. And oh, yeah. Nantes is a nice city. We saw a football (soccer) game there.

So, you really didn’t get much perspective on French agriculture, did you?

Not really. But hey, I was on vacation.

Of course, but aren’t you curious about it now?

Oh, yes. Funnily enough, I just learned at an asparagus meeting that the Nantes region is known for its carrots. I never would have picked up on that comment if I hadn’t just been there. Actually, I was just about to do some research on French agriculture – and by research, I mean Googling “French agriculture.” Let’s see what I find.

Huh. The Embassy of France In the United States says France has the largest agricultural sector in Europe, thanks to all its farmland. The country can produce large quantities of almost every type of production characteristic of the European area.

According to France.com, wine is not the country’s principal agricultural product. It’s the sugar beet. That’s exciting.

This is even more interesting. According to the Encyclopedia of the Nations: “Agriculture remains a vital sector of the French economy, even though it engages only about 4 percent of the labor force and contributes about 3 percent of the GDP. Since the early 1970s, the agricultural labor force has diminished by about 60 percent. France, whose farms export more agricultural food products than any other EU (European Union) nation (accounting for 22 percent of the EU’s total agricultural output), is the only country in Europe to be completely self-sufficient in basic food production; moreover, the high quality of the nation’s agricultural products contributes to the excellence of its famous cuisine.”

So France is quite the farming country. Guess there’s a lot more to read in that book.

There always is, isn’t there?