I was driving in Iraq Al Amir. I approached a mill, a sight I have not seen much in Jordan. The man working at the mill asked me who I was and why I was holding a camera. I told him that I am only a curious man wanting to learn about Jordan.
He tells me to close my eyes. I close my eyes.
He extends his hand into one sack of wheat, and then grabs from another.
He looks at me, and asks. Which is the one everyone in Jordan eats from?
I, knowing Jordanians in how they ask questions, answer with confidence. The one on the left.
“Correct”, he says with a nod.
Now, which one is from Jordan.
I point to the one on the right.
He says, “exactly”.
The yellow, plump and ripe, is wheat from Jordan. You cannot find this everywhere. The one of the left, brown, dry and shriveled, is found everywhere. This comes all the way from the United States.
This took me on a journey around Jordan, learning how agriculture works here. Where does our food come from?
When it comes from the outside, who sends it to us?
And when we make our food, how is it being made?
Who are the people behind the food?
And with Amman growing and growing.
And building and building.
How does the future of food look like?
And what are people doing about it?
