Food is often on my mind. I eat about 6 times a day. I do this for a couple of reasons. One, I have a high metabolism and two, the rigors of CrossFit require a high caloric intake (this is a whole other can of worms!). I usually have supper with Charity and when our schedules permit, lunch as well. In our home, I do the bulk of the cooking, meal preparation and grocery shopping. I have a circuit that includes: Nature's Best, the farmer's market (in the summer), and Safeway. We buy our bison from a local farmer (grass fed, no antibiotics, no feed lot, the usual trendy, urban disclaimers). In the summer, I also get a lot of vegetables from my Grandma D who lives in Archerwill and my grandpa who lives in Rose-Valley.
Lately I have had a number of discussions with flux CrossFit folks about food and nutrition. I guess you could say I am part of that new wave of urban folks that are becoming increasingly pre-occupied with the politics, health and ethics of food. Food security has always been on the collective mind of the human animal. Of course, how this anxiety over food security manifested itself, organized itself, and understood itself, was very different 500 000 years ago compared to today.
In the late 1700s gloomy economist Thomas Malthus warned of an inevitable food shortage that would be the result of overpopulation (Paul Roberts: 15). European nations, partially in response to Malthus' prediction - but also in response to the configurations of industrialized capitalism - started to clear cut the land in order to grow an excess of food. The storage of grains and seeds was a safety net in case of mass drought or other such 'natural' phenomena.
For the last 60 years or so, the 'industrial food complex' (Pollan), has resulted in a super-abundance of value-added products, but very little 'food.' After reading In Defense of Food I am much more discriminate in what I will bestow with the honorific food. I have immediate access to 20 different brands of microwavable dinners, but finding grass fed and finished beef or bison, from a small local farmer requires a fair bit of research and time. I do not think the extra time it takes to eat well is necessarily a bad thing. Putting more thought into what we eat, as well as its preparation, mitigates against the western tendency to treat food with casual indifference.
The urban food movement (growing your own fruits and vegetables, raising your own chickens, eating locally) of the western world is a contemporary response to this anxiety over food security. It is fundamentally an attempt to take more responsibility for the political and ethical ecology of food. Security has taken on a different meaning in the 21st century. Clearly, the problem is not one of lack. Yes, poverty leaves many hungry in Canada. But again, the problem is not lack of food but the meaning of food itself. The despicable irony of the food industry is that a kid can eat at 7-11, McDonalds, Wendy's, Macs for under $2.00 - a parent and a child can eat for $4.00.
More later.
-Darci
You might want to check out this book. The End of Food by Paul Roberts (2008).
Nice post Darci. Looking forward to more of your thoughts on the matter, and more of our engaging conversations about food!
ReplyDeleteI too like to hear your thoughts on food. I think it is really interesting how food conscious society is now, more so than ever before yet there is such a crisis of obeisity, kind of bizarre. Great blog.
ReplyDeleteI came across your post this morning. I really appreciate your discussion on the human need for food security, It is a very nice contrast to the weak opinion piece in the Globe and Mail yesterday that minimized the concern for quality and healthy food. In her article, Wente argues that nitrogen fertilizer will save the starving but she fails to make the connection with cheap oil (nitrogen fertilizer requires a great deal of energy to extract, refine and transport). By building local food systems, and by (re) learning to preserve it through for use during the cold seasons, we are also working to create food security systems that will sustain us as the price of oil rises.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/organic-tastes-good-but-better-for-us-no/article1214614/
Steve Weiss
Hey Steve,
ReplyDeleteThanks Steve for your comments. I agree with you. It is very short sighted of Wente to suggest that fertilizer is the answer. As you state, fertilizer is a by-product of oil! Also, the point is not that organic is wrong because it is only available to the middle and upper class, but that healthy food should be available to all. It is an issue of social justice. Also, she makes no mention of the polycultural farm systems that are practicing sustainable agriculture. Also, organic is only a very small piece of agricultural ecology.
-darci