food ethics

[2eclipse]

yesterday I listened to speaking of faith on NPR. Krista was interviewing Barbara Kingslover (author of the poisonwood bible) about the ethics of eating. Barbara and her family moved to southern Virginia (god help her) and made a project of eating for a year only those things they could grow/raise themselves. It seems the family has written a book about the experience, called animal, vegetable, miracle.
In the interview, kingslover talked about how we in this country have forgotten to ask questions about where our food comes from and what it takes to get it to us. She brings up hurricane Katrina and addresses the fact that it isn’t simply the government’s responsibility to provide infrastructure….but that the tragedy was also a result of the vulnerability caused when an area cannot support itself on what it grows. She asks the question “how long can we live like this and expect to not pay a price” in light of how much of the world’s resources we are using. Some people give up meat in order to eat more sustainably. She gave up bananas, citing the use of fossil fuels to provide them(for transport and refrigeration). She did some thinking about it and decided it wasn’t cruelty free in light of the resources being used.
I find myself convicted by the points she brought up. I love sushi! How much of my food comes from china or japan? How much of my food comes from California instead of being grown locally? It used to be that almost all the food a community consumed was grown locally and organically. Now it has become a “special” thing to eat that way. We import exotics from overseas while the farmers around us are struggling! How many fossil fuels are burn to bring me the food I eat? I am very interested in reading this book….and in talking with ross about what we can do to change our eating habits. I agree with her that we have a responsibility to think about the overall economic and ecological impact of our habits, not only locally, but globally.
I am also torn up about it…..because some people have allergies and some people have such strong dislikes of certain foods that they need more specialized foods. If everyone started being more conscious about what they ate to the point where there was no market for imported foods, the prices on those items would go up proportionally. Is it really such a smart thing to shift the market in this way?

Comments

Re: what we want vs. what we need

[2eclipse.livejournal.com]

i agree with mirage 897 too! my point is that we need to be asking questions about what we are asking for when we import food. the current standard is that whoever can afford it, can get it and does get it without ever thinking about whether or not burning the fossil fuels or paying people in low wages is worth it and without asking whether or not these things are happening to get them what they want - in many cases the answer is that the food has been grown, harvested and transported fairly and ecologically because sometimes we eat locally without even knowing it.

there are a lot of foods i would have trouble giving up - like seafood, for example. i'm not sure that i'm willing to do it. but the point is that i need to be THINKING about my choices when i make them.

Re: what we want vs. what we need

[zankoku-zen.livejournal.com]

but the point is that i need to be THINKING about my choices when i make them.

so you can martyrize yourself over them or beat yourself up about it later? we all try to do the conscientious choice, but if we deliberately choose something that isn't as good as it should be, what do we do then? is it a better decision because you knew? and even when knowing, you still chose to do so?

and this is extreme and i don't believe in it, but i will argue: "what's the point of thinking about it if you're still going to choose the same option as if you hadn't thought about it?"

i mean, in the scenario where you think about A and B, and you know that A uses pesticides that are harmful for the environment but grown locally and B is organic but comes from 3000 miles away, what do you do then? do you support the local farmer? do you help the environment?

Re: what we want vs. what we need

[2eclipse.livejournal.com]

is it a better decision because you knew? and even when knowing, you still chose to do so?

actually this is exactly what i think because knowing that i am making a choice that has effects from others i will a) choose those things less often and b)take responsibility for when i do choose the less economically/ecologically sound choices.

some foods are less important to eat organic...damned if i remember what they are, but i think onions are some of them. they just aren't all that effected by pesticides, or we peel them anyway and they don't absorb very much, or stuff like that. other things are especially effected by organic production and we really reap the benefits when we choose organic. you have to do your homework on this stuff to make sensible choices.