Slog
News & ArtsWednesday, June 10, 2009
Chow Daily Bread
Posted by Charles Mudede on Wed, Jun 10, 2009 at 9:59 AM
Marx on the adulteration of bread:
Englishmen, always well up in the Bible, knew well enough that man, unless by elective grace a capitalist, or landlord, or sinecurist, is commanded to eat his bread in the sweat of his brow, but they did not know that he had to eat daily in his bread a certain quantity of human perspiration mixed with the discharge of abcesses, cobwebs, dead black-beetles, and putrid German yeast, without counting alum, sand, and other agreeable mineral ingredients.
1
I feel like a sandwich, though I think ham, mayo, cheese, and salami might make better contents then bodily fluids and bugs.
2
Oh please. There's a certain allowable content of bug parts, rat hairs, etc. in flour. If you want to guarantee none of that is in your bread, grow your own wheat.
3
Putrid German yeast? The irony here is that it hadn't been for the huge material gains made possible by Capitalism over the past couple of centuries, we'd probably be ingesting a whole lot more cobwebs and sand in the shitty bread provided us by our comrades.
4
What translation are you using? It's more or less fine, but Marx's wording is closer to this:
The Englishman well-versed in the Bible certainly knew that the human being, if not by election capitalist or landlord or sinecurist, is called to eat his bread in the sweat of his brow; however, he did not know that he must also eat a certain amount of human sweat in his bread every day, soaked with the drainage from abscesses, cobwebs, dead cockroaches, and putrid German yeast, except for alum, sandstone, and other pleasant mineral ingredients.
The Englishman well-versed in the Bible certainly knew that the human being, if not by election capitalist or landlord or sinecurist, is called to eat his bread in the sweat of his brow; however, he did not know that he must also eat a certain amount of human sweat in his bread every day, soaked with the drainage from abscesses, cobwebs, dead cockroaches, and putrid German yeast, except for alum, sandstone, and other pleasant mineral ingredients.
5
Good Morning Charles,
I don't believe Marx's comment (like much of Marx) is relevant today. We have far better hygienic standards for baking in the 21st century than in the 19th. In principle, humans toil for profit. A capitalist system aids that end.
If they put out a better product (in this case bread), they will be rewarded with a better profit (cash or kind).
I don't believe Marx's comment (like much of Marx) is relevant today. We have far better hygienic standards for baking in the 21st century than in the 19th. In principle, humans toil for profit. A capitalist system aids that end.
If they put out a better product (in this case bread), they will be rewarded with a better profit (cash or kind).
7
#5 - You need to get out more...or at least pick up a fucking newspaper. Are you honestly saying that Capitalism is good for food quality?
Advertisement
Most Commented on Slog
-
Hating People Doesn't Make Them Thinner by Jen Graves
-
Los Angeles Gay Bar Bans Bachelorette Parties Until Marriage Equality Is Attained by David Schmader
-
Fill in the Blank by Grant Brissey
-
This Reminds Me of the Great Calculator Scare of the Late '70s/Early '80s by David Schmader
-
Idiot Tries to Defend Bigoted Anti-Gay-Marriage Preacher on Anderson Cooper by Paul Constant
-
Six Moms with Too Much Time on Their Hands and a Shitty Website Decide to Fight Gay Superheroes by Paul Constant
-
Why Mayor McGinn's Wife Canceled Her Family's Seattle Times Subscription by Eli Sanders
-
What the Hell Is Wrong With Seattle's Pride Parade? by Dominic Holden
-
The Saturday Morning News by Unpaid Intern
-
NYC Man Ticketed for Not Riding in the Bike Lane by Jonathan Golob
RSS
Facebook
Twitter
Comments (8) RSS