“There is, then a politics of food that, like any politics, involves our freedom. We still (sometimes) remember that we cannot be free if our minds and voices are controlled by someone else. But we have neglected to understand that we cannot be free if our food and its sources are controlled by someone else. The condition of the passive consumer of food is not a democratic condition. On reason to eat responsibly is to live free.”
—Wendell Berry, The Pleasures of Eating, 1989
I tend to agree wholeheartedly with this statement. As a New Hampshire native, freedom is has always been an important aspect of my life. (For those of you who do not know, we have to the best state motto EVER: Live Free or Die.) But as I learn more and more about what I don’t know—and what I can’t know for that matter, I begin to question the ability for freedom.
As we live in a democracy, every conscious action (or in-action, for that matter) we take can is a political statement. But, if we do not know the conditions of our food or the origin or path, can we be expected to make an educated decision, or statement with concern to our choices. How can we begin to make responsible choices and freedom?
I suppose my point here is, question the freedom of our choices. We are free to make choices, but with our limited options and our limited knowledge about those choices—is it really freedom we have?
31 March 2010
15 March 2010
Search for the (Sustainable?) Source
Never before did I question the journey of my food. Consider pizza, for example, a favorite late-night delight of college students like myself; I knew superficially where it came from: the vegetables, dough, sauce, and cheese—it all came from a supermarket, and presumably before that, from a farm. But I did not actually know where it originated, nor did I think much about it. Pizza was a quick, easy, and tasty solution to the midnight munchies, but it was not a cause for philosophical thought.
Apparently I am not alone. It is a more recent and common occurrence for consumers to want to know the path of their food. Through the influx of books, films, and Internet blogs, we have come to realize that it is not the easy or pleasant answer we were all expecting. We realize that we have very little knowledge or even access to information concerning the path of our food.
While experts such as Michael Pollan, Eric Schlosser and Robert Kenner have gone to great lengths to investigate this subject, even they found roadblocks along the way. I began to wonder how difficult it really is to discover the birthplace of these common ingredients. We hear about the universal right to nutritious food and I argue that part of that right is having the immediate access to the information behind those items.
So I set to investigate whether an average consumer, such as myself, could learn the source of my food, without it turning into a treasure hunt. Along the way, I discovered the difficulties of such a task stem from the lack of transparency and traceability of our food. If the people selling the food to us do not have the answers, how can a consumer lacking time or resources discover the path of their food?
The only real back-story I was able to find while shopping for my ingredients was the general location of origin. Though it was difficult to find the information, it was even more daunting to consider the travel time, distance and money involved with our food from seed to fork. After calculating the cost of my meal at face value, I began to consider and calculate the external costs of my non-local meal.
My conclusion to this project is that the division between the consumer and their food is wider and more opaque than I imagined. The average consumer cannot discover the origin of their food items, beyond the general location of the state or country in which it was produced. Even in the “local” farmers’ market setting of Eastern Market, the vendors have little knowledge of their products. While winter months certainly have an affect on the market’s atmosphere and farms represented, the fact of the matter is we all still need to eat regardless of season and conscious eating should not be limited to bathing suit season.
Apparently I am not alone. It is a more recent and common occurrence for consumers to want to know the path of their food. Through the influx of books, films, and Internet blogs, we have come to realize that it is not the easy or pleasant answer we were all expecting. We realize that we have very little knowledge or even access to information concerning the path of our food.
While experts such as Michael Pollan, Eric Schlosser and Robert Kenner have gone to great lengths to investigate this subject, even they found roadblocks along the way. I began to wonder how difficult it really is to discover the birthplace of these common ingredients. We hear about the universal right to nutritious food and I argue that part of that right is having the immediate access to the information behind those items.
So I set to investigate whether an average consumer, such as myself, could learn the source of my food, without it turning into a treasure hunt. Along the way, I discovered the difficulties of such a task stem from the lack of transparency and traceability of our food. If the people selling the food to us do not have the answers, how can a consumer lacking time or resources discover the path of their food?
The only real back-story I was able to find while shopping for my ingredients was the general location of origin. Though it was difficult to find the information, it was even more daunting to consider the travel time, distance and money involved with our food from seed to fork. After calculating the cost of my meal at face value, I began to consider and calculate the external costs of my non-local meal.
My conclusion to this project is that the division between the consumer and their food is wider and more opaque than I imagined. The average consumer cannot discover the origin of their food items, beyond the general location of the state or country in which it was produced. Even in the “local” farmers’ market setting of Eastern Market, the vendors have little knowledge of their products. While winter months certainly have an affect on the market’s atmosphere and farms represented, the fact of the matter is we all still need to eat regardless of season and conscious eating should not be limited to bathing suit season.
04 March 2010
Finding Organic in the American Grocercy Store
I really do not like shopping. I can find an exception to grocery shopping, because I love food so much, but even that is a trying experience. Walking into a grocery store, I find myself overwhelmed by the capitalist marketing mentality treating food as a commodity. It creates an atmosphere where I do not feel welcome to question the food I am purchasing, but to buy what I know or if I do not know, whatever the stores tells me to get. Walking through the maze of boxes and bags, which contain something that passes for food, I feel uncomfortable stopping to consider the items or to read the packages. I have also found that this mentality has built into a system where “real” food has drifted out of reach under the labels and tags. Food now labeled as “Organic” comes with the connotation that only wealthy, elitist consumers can afford it. In my experience, the average person does not spend much time thinking about food in the manner they should and they feel intimidated because they do not know how to go about it. Shopping for organic food requires thought, time, and money in today’s market and many people do not feel they have it. Grocery stores have their system that feeds off of this; they take a role telling people what to buy rather than teaching and create a separation between food and customer.
From my house in Northwest Washington D.C., I have a few options when it comes to grocery stores. Among the many grocery stores in my area, the common choice down the street is Safeway, the popular chain store known for its savings, or the second option I usually take it to walk an extra five minutes to Whole Foods, another chain with a marketing focus on natural and organic food. When it comes down to it, choosing which grocery store to go to tends to be on a case-by-case basis. Which one am I passing on the way home? Who am I with and where do they want to go? Do I want quality or cheap food? I consider these questions every time I say, "going to store for some milk—you need anything?"
Safeway is the standard, big, shiny grocery store that that is at home anywhere in America and for me it is the essence of capitalism. The black tire marks from the shopping carts stand out against the white floors as each step squeaks and the florescent lighting illuminates the brightly colored boxes. The fruits and vegetables look inviting from the entrance, until you get a step closer and realize you have been deceived by an under-ripe tomato and wilting lettuce. It is generic but familiar so customers feel comfortable and safe because it does not deviate from any other store. Customers see same brands in the same order as every other western grocery store, and it becomes expected for this to be the case in each store. Safeway markets itself as the store for everyone through a focus in the savings; it is accessible, affordable, and average.
Organic food, however, is not easily found in the store, as I found out, strolling through Safeway on my most recent visit looking for an organic frozen pizza. I walked with one of my house-mates' up and down the frozen food aisle, scouring the Pizza section and had no luck. We found it eventually in the next aisle under Novelty. After expressing her frustration that because it was organic it was placed in a different location from the rest of the pizzas, Maureen McCarty, noted, "by filing organic foods under novelty, people automatically think they have to pay more and they think they cannot afford it.” When organic food is inaccessible it becomes a “luxury” item and people are intimidated because it is different and seemingly out of reach.
Whole Foods is an entire store known for its natural and organic food and also for its high prices. Whole Foods brings the organic movement to the corporate level—organic capitalism. The store has done it well, stepping into Whole Foods is a different experience entirely, the colors are natural browns and somewhat calming and evoke the feeling of something natural. Samples of fruits, vegetables and cheese are offered in various locations throughout the store, drawing in the buyers. The atmosphere is more inviting through the sharing of food and the environment is open as information is offered about the items in the store.
While the quality of the food products is noticeably better than that of the average brands that are found at the mainstream stores, the prices remain high. Granted the customer is paying for the high quality, but the cost is so high that it makes the good quality un-accessible to many people. From my observation, the majority people that shop at Whole Foods are conscious consumers who want good quality and ethical food and they tend to be from the wealthy class. Many people cannot afford to buy these “specialty items” even if they want the quality of good organic food and because of this Whole Foods has a reputation of being an expensive and snobby store. The concept of a supermarket carrying organic and natural items is a nice idea; in some ways this particular chain has exacerbated the problem of widening the gap between natural, healthy food and the majority of the population. Rather than being the organic store, Whole Foods has become a novelty store for the average person.
The illusive organic food is one of the biggest challenges to the “real food” movement. My roommate’s sister was getting something out of my refrigerator and after seeing my selection of food asked me “are you organic?” I was a bit taken aback as I considered the question, am I organic? She was of course referring to my food choices and, yes, I do buy a much of my food organic because I prefer the better quality it offers, but does that make me organic? The fact that I was categorized as organic simply because I buy organic food further furthers the idea that only a certain type of person can buy that food. At Safeway, the average American grocery store, the organic food is separated and tucked away. Whole Foods is a store devoted to natural food, however it builds an elitist sentiment among the shoppers. With the current system of food shopping, buying groceries is a necessity for the average American and therefore not disputed. The stores use this to take charge and take advantage of the lack of knowledge and lack of will to care on the part of the consumers and take charge using marketing tactics telling us what we need to consume. The average customer must feel they can question their food choices in the grocery and the stores should offer the informational resources that welcome the intrigue and promote real food. Changing the affordability and accessibility of organic food in grocery stores is a step that will bring the movement to the mainstream public.
Note: This was a short essay I wrote for my class at American University--Political Ecology of Food and Agriculture.
From my house in Northwest Washington D.C., I have a few options when it comes to grocery stores. Among the many grocery stores in my area, the common choice down the street is Safeway, the popular chain store known for its savings, or the second option I usually take it to walk an extra five minutes to Whole Foods, another chain with a marketing focus on natural and organic food. When it comes down to it, choosing which grocery store to go to tends to be on a case-by-case basis. Which one am I passing on the way home? Who am I with and where do they want to go? Do I want quality or cheap food? I consider these questions every time I say, "going to store for some milk—you need anything?"
Safeway is the standard, big, shiny grocery store that that is at home anywhere in America and for me it is the essence of capitalism. The black tire marks from the shopping carts stand out against the white floors as each step squeaks and the florescent lighting illuminates the brightly colored boxes. The fruits and vegetables look inviting from the entrance, until you get a step closer and realize you have been deceived by an under-ripe tomato and wilting lettuce. It is generic but familiar so customers feel comfortable and safe because it does not deviate from any other store. Customers see same brands in the same order as every other western grocery store, and it becomes expected for this to be the case in each store. Safeway markets itself as the store for everyone through a focus in the savings; it is accessible, affordable, and average.
Organic food, however, is not easily found in the store, as I found out, strolling through Safeway on my most recent visit looking for an organic frozen pizza. I walked with one of my house-mates' up and down the frozen food aisle, scouring the Pizza section and had no luck. We found it eventually in the next aisle under Novelty. After expressing her frustration that because it was organic it was placed in a different location from the rest of the pizzas, Maureen McCarty, noted, "by filing organic foods under novelty, people automatically think they have to pay more and they think they cannot afford it.” When organic food is inaccessible it becomes a “luxury” item and people are intimidated because it is different and seemingly out of reach.
Whole Foods is an entire store known for its natural and organic food and also for its high prices. Whole Foods brings the organic movement to the corporate level—organic capitalism. The store has done it well, stepping into Whole Foods is a different experience entirely, the colors are natural browns and somewhat calming and evoke the feeling of something natural. Samples of fruits, vegetables and cheese are offered in various locations throughout the store, drawing in the buyers. The atmosphere is more inviting through the sharing of food and the environment is open as information is offered about the items in the store.
While the quality of the food products is noticeably better than that of the average brands that are found at the mainstream stores, the prices remain high. Granted the customer is paying for the high quality, but the cost is so high that it makes the good quality un-accessible to many people. From my observation, the majority people that shop at Whole Foods are conscious consumers who want good quality and ethical food and they tend to be from the wealthy class. Many people cannot afford to buy these “specialty items” even if they want the quality of good organic food and because of this Whole Foods has a reputation of being an expensive and snobby store. The concept of a supermarket carrying organic and natural items is a nice idea; in some ways this particular chain has exacerbated the problem of widening the gap between natural, healthy food and the majority of the population. Rather than being the organic store, Whole Foods has become a novelty store for the average person.
The illusive organic food is one of the biggest challenges to the “real food” movement. My roommate’s sister was getting something out of my refrigerator and after seeing my selection of food asked me “are you organic?” I was a bit taken aback as I considered the question, am I organic? She was of course referring to my food choices and, yes, I do buy a much of my food organic because I prefer the better quality it offers, but does that make me organic? The fact that I was categorized as organic simply because I buy organic food further furthers the idea that only a certain type of person can buy that food. At Safeway, the average American grocery store, the organic food is separated and tucked away. Whole Foods is a store devoted to natural food, however it builds an elitist sentiment among the shoppers. With the current system of food shopping, buying groceries is a necessity for the average American and therefore not disputed. The stores use this to take charge and take advantage of the lack of knowledge and lack of will to care on the part of the consumers and take charge using marketing tactics telling us what we need to consume. The average customer must feel they can question their food choices in the grocery and the stores should offer the informational resources that welcome the intrigue and promote real food. Changing the affordability and accessibility of organic food in grocery stores is a step that will bring the movement to the mainstream public.
Note: This was a short essay I wrote for my class at American University--Political Ecology of Food and Agriculture.
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