Instead of reading about the fisheries in the southern California Channel Islands in order to make progress toward my potential sheephead study, I chose to write to you about food.
There is a homeless garden outside the Long Marine Lab. It is not associated with the lab, but it is right by the driveway. I have always wondered what was mean by the term "homeless garden." At first glance (but not really glance, because you don't hear with your eyes--at first hearing?), it sounded like a garden that is lost and lonely and living on the street. Of course, that makes no sense, so my second thought was that the garden is where homeless people can work and then get a share of food.
Some volunteers at the Homeless Garden Project CSA.
I was just now inspired by a post of the farm's blog. It is about bringing back the lost art of cooking. I definitely encourage you to read it, because it is excellent and inspiring. The author, a nutritionist and cook, makes two great points that are worth quoting:
"When people ask me what is best thing they can do to improve their diet is, my answer is always the same: to cook at home more often."
"I’ve come to realize that knowledge and knowing are two different things. Knowledge is learning about something but knowing is really understanding it."
The post reminded me how passionate I am about food and sustainability, and almost made me cry! To refresh my food passion, I am posting my final essay for the course I took called "Christian Ethics of Eating." The course had a little to do with Christianity, and a lot to do with food. The prompt for the essay was to come up with twelve rules about how to eat ethically. On reading it again just now, I consider it one of my best pieces of writing, mostly because it really embodies exactly how I feel about food and society. Though I wrote it over a year ago, I will believe in and try to live by these rules for a long, long time.
A
Dozen Rules for Eating Ethically
By
Gina Marie Contolini
May
9, 2012
Rules
about what to eat
RULE
#1. Avoid
animal products.
“Vegans are living demonstrations of the fact that we do not need
to exploit animals for food” (Singer, 279). Consumption of animal
products (edible and non-edible) is unethical because it is
unnecessary and it causes harm to others. In fact, it has even been
considered “a driving force behind virtually every major category
of environmental damage” (Singer, 240). The current states of the
environment and the global food situation are appalling and immediate
action must be taken to resolve these problems. Therefore, we should
not only avoid consuming animal food but also non-food items that
depend on the rearing of animals. By boycotting these products, there
will be less demand to grow animals so producers will grow less of
them, thus saving resources which can be reallocated to alleviate
important world problems.
RULE
#2. Avoid
industrial food.
Industrial food production, especially of sugar, corn, and soy, is
based on a capitalist ethic of profit. It encourages personal benefit
at the expense of others. Robert Albritton agrees: “Because of its
short-term profit orientation, I believe that capitalism is not
consistent with a human right to food or with sustainable
agriculture” (122). Industrial food production has led to unfair
and unsafe working conditions, unsustainable farming practices, and
unhealthy eating habits. It also encourages deceptive marketing and
exploits human physiology and nature by encouraging physical and
emotional addictions. Avoiding industrial food is a way to say “no”
to these unethical practices.
RULE
#3. Avoid
tobacco.
Though not a food, similar to animal products, tobacco is an
unnecessary agricultural product and its production wastes scarce
resources. “Land that is utilized to grow tobacco is land taken
away from growing food” (Albritton, 86). Worse, however, is the
fact that there are absolutely no positive effects of tobacco. It’s
not even food! Rather than giving us energy and nutrients, tobacco
gives us emphysema and cancer. It epitomizes unethical agriculture.
RULE
#4.
Avoid low cost food.
“The deepest problem that local-food efforts face… is that we’ve
gotten used to paying so little for food” (McKibben, 89). This is a
problem because more often than not cheap food comes at a high cost
to those involved in its production. Buying it is a way of saying we
don’t think their work is worth our dollar. Furthermore, cheap food
exploits our ingrained capitalistic desire to save money in the short
term at the cost of our long-term goals like health and environmental
sustainability. Don’t believe the lie that a 12-pack of Trix yogurt
for $2 is a good deal. Those products rely on the unsustainable
subsidies of corn and soy, which are processed into “food” that
do little if anything to benefit human health. Finally, investing
financially in our food makes us more aware of our purchases.
Rules
about how to make food choices
RULE
#5. Plan
your food consumption.
Do your best not to waste food. Already, “more than 40% of the food
grown in the United States is lost or thrown away” (Singer, 268).
Food is a precious resource, and by wasting it we are denying its
importance. Buy only as much fresh food as you can consume before it
goes bad. Always refrigerate or freeze leftovers, and take home extra
food from restaurants. This will also save money that would otherwise
be spent buying new food.
RULE
#6. Avoid
traditional act analysis.
Traditional act analysis judges morality based on intentions and
ignores unintended consequences. “Moral responsibility in these
cases is simply a phantom: none of the individual moral agent’s
actions causing these problems is wrong, so there is no negative
moral responsibility to assign” (Graham, 45). Instead, we should be
far-sighted and think of all the consequences of our actions,
including social implications. When we begin to constantly reflect on
our food choices, we will be able to make decisions that rightly
express our morals.
Rules
about how to think about and treat food
RULE
#7. Be
grateful for food.
“Many Christian ethicists regard gratitude as one of the basic,
enduring sensibilities that should characterize Christian existence
and our lifelong response to God” (Graham, 9). Food allows you to
live, so appreciate it! This will humble us and keep our focus away
from personal gain. Say thanks to local farmers, say grace, and use
food for what it is for—good health. Graham notes that part of
gratitude is proper use of a gift, which in this case means keeping
our bodies healthy. Plus, we will respect food more when we are using
it as a tool for good health.
RULE
#8. Grow
your own food.
“Smaller farms produce far more food per acre” (McKibben, 67).
You save a lot of time and resources by getting to know a spot of
land and growing a small garden of your own. Gardening is the most
efficient form of agriculture and, when you grow local plants in
season, has the lowest environmental footprint. Growing your own
food—even just a basil plant in your kitchen—will also help you
appreciate and think about what food really is.
RULE
#9. Take
part in food production.
“Most of us, including most of the farmers who raise food animals,
do our very best to avoid thinking about, let along having anything
directly to do with, their slaughter” (Pollan, 226). Instead, visit
farms and form relationships with the people who provide you the
stuff of life. This will foster a great love and appreciation for the
food you eat and the people who grow it. It will also encourage
transparency and honesty about how food is grown. Plus, it will be
much easier to choose local ethical food when you’ve put a face to
it. Also, take some initiative and learn about farmers’ practices.
This will help you determine if they are supporting ethical food
production practices.
RULE
#10. Eat
in community.
Food is important for physical and emotional health, and eating in
community benefits both of these. “We want our food not just to
replenish our muscle tissues and blood cells but to lift our spirits
and gladden our hearts” (McCormick, 10). Sharing food with others
keeps food a major part of our lives, which it should be, since
without it, we would die! Eating in community is a great way to get
people together in a relaxed, enjoyable atmosphere. Plus, if you
share your thoughts on food while you are eating together, you can
promote a positive food ethic that will be easy to maintain when
others may hold you accountable.
RULE
#11 Learn
to cook.
Investing time in your food is an excellent way to appreciate it
more. Pollan notes this when he makes his “perfect” meal: “…no
meal I’ve ever prepared or eaten has been more real” (392). Even
if you just learn to cook one or two meals, cooking will help you
remember the importance of food in your life. It will also help keep
you away from unethical processed food, and encourage community
eating since cooking is very visible and often pungent.
RULE
#12. Vary
your diet. “Many
of us have forgotten our hunger, and go long stretches without
remembering the hunger pangs of neighbors who struggle for scraps to
supply their daily bread” (McCormick, 26). While fasting can be a
useful mental and spiritual exercise, simply restricting certain
foods or making an effort to eat differently can have a positive
effect on our concept of food. By feeling hunger, we won’t forget
the importance of our food and that we are blessed to have it. Set a
date when to lift the restriction and when you reach it, that food
item will seem so much more glorious!
View the rules here in Google, where you can download them!
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