I've always been interested in food and the politics surrounding it, but its one of those subjects that can make one want to disconnect for awhile and forget. Problem is, that's the main problem. Right there- the forgetting, the head-in-sand moments or years that go by when we stop thinking about what is behind most of what we eat.
When I was a little girl, the grocery stores carried only very specific types of each vegetable. Want an onion? Here's a white one. Want a potato? Russet. Want some lettuce? Iceburg. Tomato? Beefsteak. Apple? Red Delicious- which I always felt was a bit of a bet, sometimes tasting like apple-y styrofoam than a crisp, fresh apple. We ate a lot of canned vegetables back then, and a good amount of frozen. I don't remember one time actually seeing broccoli not from a plastic bag. My mother grew a large-ish vegetable garden most summers, and that's where I realized that fresh is ever so much better than not fresh. I would stand in the garden in sundress and sandals, picking pea pods and opening them, and staring at the perfect line of waxy, green peas before placing each one in my mouth and delighting in that sweet taste with a texture oh-so-different than what came out of those hideous cans.
Europe is in an e-coli crisis at the moment, with 18 dead as of today, and many more sickened and threatened lives. Food is not simple. Food is not easy. It was never easy, and it never will be. The growing of it has become- for the large part- 'easier'. But that has brought with it risk and a certain level of violence that is at present uncheckable once unleashed. Do we believe that we can sterilize fields, feed livestock diets that cause them illness and just get away with it? Do we feel entitled to easy food? I think we often do.
Below are several links to further information and reading if you're interested. Change is under way, but it is also under attack. The only prevention of fruitful change is active pressure-
http://www.slowfoodusa.org/
http://www.edibleschoolyard.org/
http://michaelpollan.com/
Food, Inc.
The Garden
Fair Food Project
The Food Revolution
The Future of Food
Fast Food Nation
Food Politics
Community Supported Agriculture
