I was de-stalking strawberries to put in my porridge when I was struck by the incongruity of summer fruits in a winter breakfast.
Their marriage was like that of bat and bobcat - unlikely and unnatural. It turns out, using blue and red LED lighting, strawberry plants can be convinced it's spring and carry on producing fruit throughout the winter.
These strawberries came from The Greenery in Netherlands and packed by Tesco in Cheshunt.
The Greenery has a "sustainability strategy" that involves a "healthy supply chain" a commitment to reduce CO2 and incentives for green innovations. Tesco Nurture is the retailer's "independently credited quality standard" that "assures you, our customer that fruit and vegetables are grown in an environmental and responsible way".
I couldn't square these green ideals with the tricking of nature to produce bounty all year-round, free of sunshine and vitamins, so that please-yourself consumers like me can whip up all-year mix 'n' match breakfast to order.
All this makes a point about the weird dislocation from the natural order of things that has followed globalisation.
Although I'm not sure whether this point is good (the endless engine of human ingenuity) or bad (the inevitable consequences of foodie hubris) as I haven't had my morning porridge yet.
