When eating organic was totally uncool

  "When eating organic was totally uncool" by Pha Lo, illustrates when eating organic was not a luxury but the only option available to survive. The author grew up in a Hmong refugee community and because they were so poor, they ate organic. They lived in Del Paso Heights California, and grew organic food in their backyard with fear of being punish for it. In the essay Pha Lo stated " they farmed in the city for two necessities: food and a wishful connection to the old ways of life." The only way to support the family was though agriculture, even if it was not practice by others. His family grew up food anywhere they was soil, even between parking lots. The food in the market was so expensive that it was hard to lived by without growing your own food. They grew their food in constant fear, of being reported to, to the authorities.  Even though the author hated it, his family was to poor to simply changed their lifestyle. In modern times, people grow their own food as if it is a fashion. What was once the only option for a refugee family to survive, it's now celebrated as a luxurious fashion.