Apple Sauce - Is Part of the Issue of Today!

"This apple sauce may have the lowest amount of sugar compared to the other brands in the store, but it's not at all tasty", Kaffe says to his flatmate, Stecci, while lingering in his new sofa, eating oatmeal with apple sauce. "Well, all other brands on the shelves, had immense amount of sugar in it, and I find sugar pretty nasty, especially refined sugar which is in everything", Stecci replies, and after a short pause she continues "I don't know what's so difficult about making good apple sauce without sugar? The marmalade I buy have no added sugar in it, it contains only berries and it tastes great!". That declaration made Kaffe react like one of those toy rides outside Walmart when feeding them with waaay too many quarters. "Well, the sugar is added to compensate for all the lack of real fruit content and to cover up for the strange extracts they choose to put in there instead. Without the sugar the product wouldn't taste very good. In fact, it would probably taste awful. The producers choose to do this because it's cheaper than doing the 'real thing', and making it cheaper earns more money to the shareholders. The fewer genuine products they can use, the more they can gain monetary, which is done with most everything you buy today.

The voice of Kaffe now hits a slightly lighter pitch and the flow of words increase in speed as if turning a record from 33 to 45 rpm as he continues "Just look at my sofa!". Kaffe points at his newly acquired sofa, which used to belong to his aunts husbands father. "It's from the early 60's. Do you see anything wrong with it?" he asks. Stecci looks up at Kaffe (he is now standing up and she is still seated), she looks at the sofa and then back at Kaffe. "No…" she says, which is the cue for Kaffe to continue. "It is a genuine piece of furniture made to endure being used over and over again, also known as quality. Today, on the other hand, things are made to be replaced. If you buy a dishwasher and the warranty on that particular product is five years, it will last for five years and then most likely break apart in one way or another. If you buy a car and the warranty is three years, you will drive it for three years and then it will suddenly die, and it is most probably an electric problem, which means you'll have to go to a certified mechanic, owned by the company that manufactured your car. If you buy a phone and the warranty is one year, it'll most likely fall to pieces or just not function correctly after a year and you will have to buy a new one, or just extend your contract and get a phone for "free", which you will pay for in your subscription, of course. The companies make us believe that we need to upgrade and 'slash' or get the latest product and this affects everything we do, not only what we buy. It's all about making the consumer buy, use, throw away and then loop that process: the cheaper the product, the lesser the quality, the more things need to get replaced, the more money the owners make - and that is what it is all about".

Kaffe has now worked up his temperature real high. “Even LOVE IS DISPOSABLE these days! If there's anything wrong in a relationship we choose to end it and find a new love instead of working through the hardships! Get the latest, use it, throw it away and loop the process!" - End of breath.

"Kaffe…", Stecci calmly says. "Sit down and finish your oatmeal".

-Kaffe, July 2007