http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021918069Whovian (1,627 posts)
A sign of the overwhelming poverty in the rural SE
Last edited Sun Dec 2, 2012, 11:34 PM USA/ET - Edit history (1)
Riding past a soybean field last week but I decided to bring it up now I saw several cars parked by the field and many more people scavenging soybeans that the harvesting machinery had left behind.
They were all bent down on all fours as they sifted through the scrum and dumping their finds into five gallon buckets. I have never seen this before.
It is hard to ride a motorcycle with tears in your eyes.
On edit. For the gleaning fans that are saying this is just great that they are doing this:
THESE ARE SOYBEANS!!! They are the size of a small pea. They are earth tone in color and buried in the shards of the bushes that cover them in the earth of the same color as the bean. To find these beans one would have to sift through the detritus one handful at a time. This is not picking up chestnuts, apples or pecans or whatever. This is desperation.
Yes Whovian, people are sifting on hands and knees through the scrum, whatever the hell that is, to gather soybeans needing to make soybean soup, homemade soybean bread and maybe some tofu, wash it down with homemade soybean milk. The fields near my house are crawling with soybean hungry people.
d_r (2,162 posts)
1. damn I've never seen that
Neither has anyone else.
Whovian (1,627 posts)
5. I've lived here and in this area for 40-50 years and have never seen this before.
These aren't apples or pecans, these are soybeans. A not very desirable dish to most but a good source of protein. Also, I can imagine they are much harder to find in a mown field than an apple or pecan would be as they rested under a tree.
A field is sown, not mown.
Whovian (1,627 posts)
18. After spraying the herbicide everything dies and dries up.
Nothing against gleaning here, but gleaning soybeans a a very labor intensive work.
OH MY GOD. Now the farmers are trying to kill hungry folk. I really dislike that word folk. Obama has made it vulgar. It now means sucka !
People, skip the soybeans, find yourself a place were there are many pecan trees. The store has 1 lb. bags of whole pecans going for $10. They are selling them here at malls for $6 a bag cash. Go make yourself some money and forget the scrum.
