Food and the (coming) Revolution
I view the act of eating as a religious act. One in which I feel the least number of steps between the ground and our plates is the more religious route, one in which organic food (where the essential rape of the Earth does not play a part in the ‘food cycle’) is the more spiritual route. One in which, when I cook for myself, I feel much more connected to something beyond just myself. Beyond the religious aspect, there are health benefits to be considered. The health content of non-organically grown fruits and vegetables is significantly worse then that of their organically grown compatriots (source), then of course, we have the ills to our factory farmed meat, shot up full of antibiotics to fight the disease prone conditions in which they are held. (Of course one should consider the welfare of the animals themselves as well)
But… organic is a luxury that only a rich person can connect to. There is a large price discrepancy between the retail of organic foods and the retail of foods that result from our modern industrial techniques. Beyond the built in low costs (I’m talking a retail cost here, not a cost health-care dollars and whatnot) of the industrial food system, our government currently subsidizes the industrial system via corn subsidies. These subsidies are the base for our “cheap” cattle and chicken system, the industrial food supply has removed the cattle and chickens from their natural pastures to feedlots and feed houses full of corn (oh, and antibiotics), these animals cannot subside on corn alone (when they were bread to live on grass and worms) so we fill ‘em up with additives to make up for the deficiencies in their diets. Of course this changes the flavoring, so when it hits the mass market we have to coat it with plenty of salt (ever had a chick-fil-a sandwich?) and fats, both of which our bodies crave, to make up for the loss. (For more on this topic, read “Fast Food Nation” and/or “The Omnivore’s Dilemma“)
But, me? I can avoid it all. I have the option to purchase my organic bread (at three times the cost of white wonder bread), I can buy my organic jelly (four dollars a jar), and my organic peanut butter (upwards of five dollars a jar, but the only ingredient is peanuts!), I can buy my bacon with a humanely treated seal (at three times the cost), and my half gallon of organic milk (with no hormones, additives, or anything nasty, all for more than double the cost). You see, I can buy myself out of the industrial food complex, but then I think about those that cannot, those that need to go to the taco bells for their “value” menus, those that have to buy the cheapest milk in the store, and those for which white wonder bread is the only option.
In the Christian tradion, we call this group the “least of these”, we’re told that we are to treat them in a way that respects their personhood and their humanity. In the terms of coroporate businesses, it means those businesses probably shouldn’t make all the crap available that they do, but those of you reading this blog probably aren’t part of that industrial food system. What can you do? How can you help?
Vote– with your dollar. How many times have you heard that every dollar you spend is a vote? Often times it doesn’t matter (your dollars spent on macs? yeah… they really don’t change the world, sorry), but when it comes to food, it matters very much. Every time you purchase an humanely raised, organically raised, or fair trade food item instead of one that comes from the industrial food system, you bring us one (small) step closer to making those products affordable to all. Every time you forgo stopping at Chick-Fil-A for your evening meal and instead cook something (preferably organic) for yourself, you send a message to the system, you scream out the need for change. Every time you buy an organic item at a grocery store, they notice. They see what products “move” and those that dont. A few years ago the organic items at my local store were limited to a few isles isolated by themselves, now many organic items have made their way to other isles, sitting proudly next to their industrial brothers.
The world is changing, it’s moving away from CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operations– the inudstrial food systems) towards pastoral farming techniques. The industrial food companies are noticing the trend, some have begun changing small portions of their overall production capacity to organic, this lowers the cost of organic foods for all. We’ve seen the transition in the chemicals market move towards providing a cheap(er than it was) environmentally friendly alternative, the same thing needs to happen in the food market.
The revolution is coming, the question is how long will it take? Will you sit back and watch it come, or will you help me (and others) bring about change by committing to organic, to fair trade, and to environmentally friendly? Or will you continue to stall the revolution with your fast food meals? Every meal you eat is an ethical decision, a political decision, and a religious decision. Think it through, make the right decision.
email2friend