Summer Editorial - On my way from Prague to Romania

Almost every day I read in the papers about problems dealing with heavy truck transport. In the radio I heard that an inspection discovered a batch of defective meat, part of which had already been sold in shops. They were so far unable to track down where it came from...

I suppose it all starts out somewhere on a farm if you can call a production plant where cattle is “produced” a farm. Somewhere else it’s killed and portioned, somewhere else it’s packed and another firm may transport it to a different place.

The heavy trucks plow the expressways and roads, going back and forth.. They transport meat from Hungary as well as to Hungary, from Germany, but also to Germany, from and to Poland, as well as to and from Croatia. It is altogether senseless. I see it now with my own eyes. We pass heavy trucks, but even they pass each other. The road is full of them.

Do you think that the Czechs desire to chew cutlets from Hungarian, Croatian or German pigs?

For me it is more important for the meat to be juicy and not tough. Chickens, eggs, dairy products fruits and vegetables are being transported back and forth the same way. This senseless marketing battle has already destroyed the Czech garlic market. It was replaced by Chinese garlic, which is practically tasteless.

Chemically and esthetically produced apples and tomatoes are absolutely tasteless and I don’t buy them. Lately, farmers and local growers started to sell “real” apples, tomatoes and potatoes at Saturday outdoor markets in different parts of Prague. However, there are even cheaters, who buy the produce in a supermarket, and sell it at the market.

So now you see dear readers how I have avoided making comments about our political situation. You will find them elsewhere. I’d rather just relax today. Here in Romanian Nadlak, at the Hungarian border, I am meeting with Slovaks whose ancestors came here in the fall of 1802. Before that, they lived about 50 years in Hungary. They plowed the land, sowed the seed, and in spring when the grain started to sprout, they built their houses, school and a church.

Here I just want to point out that Czechs and Slovaks no matter where they went always were able to prove their worth.