I think it was actually a "coincidence", so to speak.
The food in the sacks was in an undefined state of being either rotted or not. Rand cannot change this, we never see him take rotten food and make good food from it, the sacks that Iralin had already opened remained full of rotten food. However, it just so happened that the sacks opened after Rand's arrival all contained good food. It is "coincidence" in that Rand did not actually change the state of the food, but its state entirely depends on Rand's nature at the time. The sacks that were opened when Rand was consumed in darkness just so happened to have bad food. The sacks opened when Rand had reached enlightenment just so happened to have good food. The food can be considered both rotten and good until someone actually looks at it, at which point its state becomes permanently one or the other. Schrödinger's grain?
Same with the apples, Rand did not unrot the rotten apples, the apple tree just grew some more.
The problem I have with this idea, is that the food that was not spoiled was apparently not just unspoiled, but rather better than it actually should have been.
The barley looked as if it had just been harvested, each grain plump and full.
"Potatoes here," another soldier said from beside a barrel. "Look as good as any I've had. Better than most, actually. Not dried up, like you'd expect from winter leftovers."
If it was just a case of the food essentially spoiling the moment Iralin opened the sack, but being otherwise unaffected, then presumably now that Rand is preventing the spoiling, the food should have just been ordinary food. But instead, it is repeatedly brought up that the food looks BETTER than it should. The potatoes are fresh unlike they should be, having sat in storage for so long. And the barley appears as if it had just been harvested. Something happened to the food. Maybe you are right and Rand could not unspoil the food that was already out in the open, but he certainly did SOMETHING to the food still in the sacks.
This is especially true when we look at the apple scene.
"It's not you who is mad, friend," the stranger said. "But the entire world. Gather those apples quickly. My presence will hold him off for a time, I think, and whatever you take now should be safe from his touch."
Rand seems to believe that the apples that would be harvested now, would be immune to spoiling thanks to him. Maybe that is what he did and why the food looked so fresh/good. Rand "blessed" the food in some way, turning it into fresher version of itself, and more importantly made the food immune to the touch of the DO so that he could not spoil any of it again.
Rand, new and improved.
- 12/11/2010 03:53:38 AM
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Re: Rand, new and improved.
- 12/11/2010 04:14:17 AM
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Best nerdy comment ever *NM*
*NM*
Re: Rand, new and improved.
- 14/11/2010 08:30:10 AM
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But Rand didn't change what they were.
- 14/11/2010 06:31:50 PM
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Lady Torkumen jumped out a WINDOW, y'know.
- 14/11/2010 12:31:50 AM
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A thought just occured to me...
- 14/11/2010 04:47:50 AM
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Um... I believe it's called "the True Source" and is divided into male and female halves. 
- 14/11/2010 03:30:48 PM
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- 14/11/2010 03:30:48 PM
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Re: Um... I believe it's called "the True Source" and is divided into male and female halves.
- 15/11/2010 06:27:18 PM
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- 15/11/2010 06:27:18 PM
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Re: Um... I believe it's called "the True Source" and is divided into male and female halves.
- 15/11/2010 06:37:14 PM
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- 15/11/2010 06:37:14 PM
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