International Fish Stew

Sam Walton must be turning in his grave.

For Valentine's Day dinner yesterday, the CFO wanted me to make her a fish stew like those found in Spain or Italy. I was, of course, happy to oblige.

So, off I went to Harris-Teeter to get the ingredients. The stew, you understand, is made of a little of this, a little of that and a lot of nothing. And, the Asian fellow behind the seafood counter there was both knowledgeable and helpful in acquiring the necessary ingredients.

Here's what I bought yesterday to put in it:

Mahi mahi from somewhere in the Pacific Ocean off Hawaii. Haddock from the Atlantic Ocean somewhere off Canada. Shrimp from a farm in Thailand. Mussels from the sea off Ireland. Scallops from Argentina. Clams from the US coast. And, finally, the one that always blows my mind, garlic from China. All that came together along with some onions, tomatoes and spices to make a very nice international fish stew.

Maybe it's my imagination but it seems that more and more of our foodstuff is coming from foreign countries. And now, The Donald, who grew up on an apple farm in New York State, tells me that the Chinese are planting millions of apple trees and will take over the apple business within the next decade or so.

So, tell me, when all our goods are made offshore and all our food is grown offshore, what does that leave us but services that cannot be taken offshore? And, when all the nation's wealth has gone offshore to buy the goods and the food, what do we use to buy those services?

Seems to me that the US is going to end up in an international fish stew itself if "Made in USA" and "Product of USA" labels don't start reappearing on the stuff we buy real soon.

It can be done. Indeed, Dov Charney and American Apparel is doing it right now in downtown LA of all places. I urge everyone to read their story.