If you saw my video, “Four budget-friendly Dollar Store hacks to protect cabbage and brassica plants from cabbage worms…” I received some comments that really confused and shocked me.
Cabbage worms will eat and destroy your plants so that you cannot eat the cabbages, broccoli, kale, etc. There really isn’t any “sharing.”
And I find this idea of growing vegetables for the bugs to eat… to be a rather privileged and backwards take. People are struggling with food costs right now… why would anyone growing their own food to offset their costs want to pay all this money for crops to feed the bugs? Make it make sense…
Humans are the priority in the food chain. We grow vegetables in order to eat and live healthy. After that, I 100% support doing things for the pollinators (of which I do many), but they do not come before people’s access and their struggles to avoid malnutrition and hunger. To expect this to be the norm is not the flex you think it is.
Part of my food advocacy background is in food accessibility for the vulnerable. That means that I help people learn these things so they don’t starve, and can be healthier to avoid going to the doctor. And where/when I can I give food away to those who can benefit from the blessing, I do often. Asking someone to choose between food for their family or giving it freely to cabbage worms right now (in this economy), and expecting them to plant extra seeds/plants they already cannot afford, is a bit absurd.
I just wish people would think through the things they say sometimes. Not everyone has that level of privilege.
