{"id":9788,"date":"2025-11-10T17:27:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T22:27:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/?p=9788"},"modified":"2025-11-10T17:27:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T22:27:13","slug":"ugly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/10\/ugly\/","title":{"rendered":"UGLY"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

THE OBSERVATION BOOTH<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

OP \/ ED BY ANDREA DIALECT<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

PHOTO CREDITS ANDREA DIALECT, GEN AI<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strange Fruit by Billie Holiday and\/or Nina Simone)<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

(Google that and listen as you read below. Let<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

me know what you think!) … Andrea Dialect<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

 <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

STRANGE FRUIT<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

 <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

OH, SNAP.<\/strong> Now let\u2019s slide this in, SNAP and EBT. Cuts, delays, changes, panicking and confusion. Every time things shift, my first thought is, what should I be looking at now. Because when things shift, it is a warning, a heads-up, a nudge saying pay attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe this one is pushing us to look again at what we\u2019re eating and what we are buying, and what we\u2019ve been trained to pick up without question. If they can control what\u2019s on the shelves, what\u2019s in your cart and why you\u2019re swiping for it, they sure can control what goes into your body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week\u2019s article draft literally fell into my lap. A friend and I stumbled into that ugly topic during our conversation, but he hadn\u2019t been talking about my kind of ugly when he mentioned fruits and produce being my preference. I wrote about this before – the ugly, the similarities of those stockpiles in grocery stores, each one the likeness of its own kind, the absence of aroma and the lack of flavor. He was talking about Ugly Fruit<\/strong>, also known as Ugli Fruit<\/strong>, and I hadn\u2019t ever heard of such a thing before. It made me ask myself: what\u2019s really in the bag?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I miss those store runs when scavenging through once beautiful stacks and piles of veggies and fruits, examining lovely imperfections, bruises, signs of over-ripening, and even those that refused to ripen at all. That used to be my treasure trove. Bumps, scars, freckles – bent, bumpy, speckled, twisted – that is what I like. Give me ugly anytime, because the polished lookery presented for ingestion has no appeal. It curbs my buying power as well as my appetite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my opinion, when it comes to produce – as with so many other things one could ingest – logically, it ain\u2019t Mama made. I can see that. Now, pretty is not so pretty anymore. Be it strange fruits or veggies, when they\u2019re bent, bumpy, speckled, or twisted, we call it \u201cugly.\u201d But ugly isn\u2019t bad; sometimes it\u2019s just different. And sometimes what makes it different goes much deeper than the skin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is about that difference. It\u2019s about the fruit and foods we eat every day that didn\u2019t start off looking, tasting, or growing the way they do now. Some were mixed together by people. Some were edited, engineered, or altered – not by Mother Nature, but by man-made science. And the truth is, most of the foods we eat today didn\u2019t exist hundreds of years ago. We have entered the world of GMO and hybrid foods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A GMO is a food that has been changed in a laboratory. Scientists reach inside the plant, switch things around, add something, remove something, and suddenly the plant becomes something new. Think of it like editing a character in a video game – new powers, new colors, new features – except this time it is real food going into real bodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A hybrid is what happens when you mix two different plants together – A plus B equals C. It\u2019s like mixing a lion and a tiger to make a liger, but for food. Hybrids usually come from farmers, not labs. They choose plants they like and cross-pollinate them to create a new type of plant. It sounds cute, but here\u2019s the catch: some hybrids can\u2019t grow on their own without human help, and many don\u2019t have seeds that produce real fruit again. Meaning – when they add in, what exactly did they take out? I say taste. I say nutrition. I say value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visit Localtalkweekly.com<\/strong> to read drafts in its entirety and check out the archives getting even more amazing content from the Entertainment section. While you\u2019re at it, check out my fine artistry photography archives in support of my subjects that, while Lending Their Image To Change, become my muse and clay as supporting my experimental projects as I mold them into Fine Artistry Also join me and the collective for my Facebook live as I develop daily \u201cPORTAL\u201d sessions. Follow my msdialect<\/strong> Instagram, and let\u2019s grow out loud together! Like, follow, and share.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DID YOU KNOW\u2026<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FOODS THAT AREN\u2019T WHAT YOU THINK THEY ARE<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here are some everyday foods that didn\u2019t start out the way we know them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.      Seedless Watermelon<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Real watermelons used to have big black seeds.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, most are hybrids – made seedless for convenience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pretty? Yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Natural? Not exactly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2.      Bananas<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Those perfect yellow bananas?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They\u2019re man-made hybrids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • The original wild bananas were full of hard seeds.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    4.      Seedless Grapes<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Kids love them because they\u2019re easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But they\u2019re created through breeding and lab assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Nature didn\u2019t make seedless fruit – people did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    5.      Corn (Almost All of It)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Corn is one of the most engineered foods in America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It started out as a tiny, tough plant called teosinte.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Now it\u2019s sweet, large, bright, and everywhere – from cereal to snacks to sodas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    6.      Carrots<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    They used to be purple or white.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Humans bred them until they became orange – on purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    7.      Strawberries<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Modern strawberries are hybrids from two different plants mixed together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Bigger, brighter, sweeter – but far from the original.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    THE OBSERVATION BOOTH OP \/ ED BY ANDREA DIALECT PHOTO CREDITS ANDREA DIALECT, GEN AI Strange Fruit by Billie Holiday and\/or Nina Simone) (Google that and listen as you read below. Let me know what you think!) … Andrea Dialect   STRANGE FRUIT   OH, SNAP. Now let\u2019s slide this in, SNAP and EBT. Cuts, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":9790,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[113],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9788","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"yoast_head":"\nUGLY -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/10\/ugly\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UGLY -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"THE OBSERVATION BOOTH OP \/ ED BY ANDREA DIALECT PHOTO CREDITS ANDREA DIALECT, GEN AI Strange Fruit by Billie Holiday and\/or Nina Simone) (Google that and listen as you read below. Let me know what you think!) … Andrea Dialect   STRANGE FRUIT   OH, SNAP. Now let\u2019s slide this in, SNAP and EBT. Cuts, […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/10\/ugly\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-10T22:27:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-10T22:27:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ChatGPT-Image-Nov-3-2025-11_03_43-PM-300x450.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"450\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/10\/ugly\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/10\/ugly\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7e100b844f82f76718c8dfa5840bb1e5\"},\"headline\":\"UGLY\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-10T22:27:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-10T22:27:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/10\/ugly\/\"},\"wordCount\":960,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/10\/ugly\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ChatGPT-Image-Nov-3-2025-11_03_43-PM.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Entertainment\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/10\/ugly\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/10\/ugly\/\",\"name\":\"UGLY -\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/10\/ugly\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/10\/ugly\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ChatGPT-Image-Nov-3-2025-11_03_43-PM.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-10T22:27:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-10T22:27:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7e100b844f82f76718c8dfa5840bb1e5\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/10\/ugly\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/10\/ugly\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/10\/ugly\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ChatGPT-Image-Nov-3-2025-11_03_43-PM.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ChatGPT-Image-Nov-3-2025-11_03_43-PM.png\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":1536},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/10\/ugly\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"UGLY\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/\",\"name\":\"\",\"description\":\"A Household Name Since 2000\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7e100b844f82f76718c8dfa5840bb1e5\",\"name\":\"Admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/57a51484ffde9c2692054b50de017c173a415ec2a24ca437ec9bd04c6309bd01?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/57a51484ffde9c2692054b50de017c173a415ec2a24ca437ec9bd04c6309bd01?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/57a51484ffde9c2692054b50de017c173a415ec2a24ca437ec9bd04c6309bd01?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"UGLY -","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/10\/ugly\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"UGLY -","og_description":"THE OBSERVATION BOOTH OP \/ ED BY ANDREA DIALECT PHOTO CREDITS ANDREA DIALECT, GEN AI Strange Fruit by Billie Holiday and\/or Nina Simone) (Google that and listen as you read below. Let me know what you think!) … Andrea Dialect   STRANGE FRUIT   OH, SNAP. Now let\u2019s slide this in, SNAP and EBT. Cuts, […]","og_url":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/10\/ugly\/","article_published_time":"2025-11-10T22:27:08+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-11-10T22:27:13+00:00","og_image":[{"width":300,"height":450,"url":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ChatGPT-Image-Nov-3-2025-11_03_43-PM-300x450.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/10\/ugly\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/10\/ugly\/"},"author":{"name":"Admin","@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7e100b844f82f76718c8dfa5840bb1e5"},"headline":"UGLY","datePublished":"2025-11-10T22:27:08+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-10T22:27:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/10\/ugly\/"},"wordCount":960,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/10\/ugly\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ChatGPT-Image-Nov-3-2025-11_03_43-PM.png","articleSection":["Entertainment"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/10\/ugly\/","url":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/10\/ugly\/","name":"UGLY -","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/10\/ugly\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/10\/ugly\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ChatGPT-Image-Nov-3-2025-11_03_43-PM.png","datePublished":"2025-11-10T22:27:08+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-10T22:27:13+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7e100b844f82f76718c8dfa5840bb1e5"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/10\/ugly\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/10\/ugly\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/10\/ugly\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ChatGPT-Image-Nov-3-2025-11_03_43-PM.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ChatGPT-Image-Nov-3-2025-11_03_43-PM.png","width":1024,"height":1536},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/10\/ugly\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"UGLY"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/","name":"","description":"A Household Name Since 2000","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7e100b844f82f76718c8dfa5840bb1e5","name":"Admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/57a51484ffde9c2692054b50de017c173a415ec2a24ca437ec9bd04c6309bd01?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/57a51484ffde9c2692054b50de017c173a415ec2a24ca437ec9bd04c6309bd01?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/57a51484ffde9c2692054b50de017c173a415ec2a24ca437ec9bd04c6309bd01?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Admin"},"url":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ChatGPT-Image-Nov-3-2025-11_03_43-PM.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9788"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9788\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9791,"href":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9788\/revisions\/9791"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}