In the Defense of Our Fight for Food

       Though I've always been interested in food and health, it wasn't until my first Anthropology of Food class during my sophomore year of undergrad that I started to learn how complicated our food situation is. Alternative medicine, nutrition, and an "all natural" diet attracted me at a young age, though I think my family's italian eating habits also contributed to my interest. Reading "In the Defense of Food" was my baptism and inspired the foundation of my food philosophy. I ate healthy, did yoga, was impressed by Whole Foods, learned the cooking traditions of my family, and paid closer attention to my Nonno in our gardens. As crunchy as they come, I nod in defeat when asked if I eat granola, read Eastern philosophy, and enjoy things that taste like dirt.
       After undergrad I bounced to Italy, expecting to study something historic and even perhaps Renaissance related. I had first heard about Slow Food from a sociology professor I met in the small town of Pisciotta where I vacationed in Southern Italy. I still didn't know a lot about Slow Food when I arrived in Florence, but when given the opportunity to chose an organization for my year-long internship, I jumped on the snail. A month later, against the better judgement of my then advisors and colleagues, I decided to write my thesis on it. Though difficult due to a lack of info and disinterest from the majority of my colleagues, (though I must point out and thank those who encouraged me), I was hungry to learn about the movement seeking to restore the quality, environmental sustainability, locality, ritual, and identity of food. My hunger was fed and curiosity temporarily satisfied until I really got into the nitty gritty of writing.
       Months of reading and writing and a parade of frustrating edits, emails, and unsuccessful interviews added up to 60 pages I could hold in my hands. Though satisfied by my accomplishment and more educated than I had been on the subject of food issues, there was still a problem. Academically, I had succeeded and even proven wrong those who doubted my ability to pursue a subject more commonly associated with pleasure than scholastics in most Italian Studies programs. Philosophically, however, I was confused. I have been called out as a "food snob," insensitive to the fact that healthy and good food is expensive and inaccessible to most. Specifically, the issue of elitism has caused me much anxiety and heavy reflection on why I am on this mission to change our food system to begin with. Some people are happy with today's food system and don't think they should have to spend more money on food. I have never been hungry a day in my life so why should I be entitled to dictating what access others (the hungry especially) have to food?
       Well, I've thought about it a lot and would like to clarify my mission as I have done in my profile above. Though I may seem overly defensive and can not refer to specific incidences of being called out, there's a fiery burn in my gut that tells me I have to say this. The goals of myself and many others that seek to change the industrial food system of today is not a nostalgic attempt to revert back to eating habits of the past. I understand that we have a growing population to sustain in ways that cannot be met by technologies of the past. I don't think everyone should have to grown their own food if they have no interest, I don't think people should stop eating meat, and I especially don't think people who use the only $10.00 they have to feed a hungry family of four at MacDonald's are "stupid" or "disgraceful."
       The goal is not to shun consumers who are always entitled to the freedom of choice. Whether or not you chose to eat genetically modified, processed, or convenient food and if you give a damn at all is your choice. (Monsanto, lobbyists, and the environmentally irresponsible, however, deserve to be criticized since their monopolistic behavior oppresses the environment and choices of other consumers). My goal is to educate those who do not know that there are other options. My goal is help low-income families understand that they can feed their families on healthy food at a low cost. My goal is to give kids adequate choices in the cafeteria and feed them energy, not chemicals. My goal is for every city to have an accessible farmers market every day of the week. To empower small-scale farmers. To help artisanal producers regain a competitive edge in the food system. To encourage planting a garden, going to farmers markets, and eating less meat, not to impose it. To provide more resources for those who do care. To provide an alternative to the industrial food system. Whoever wants to keep eating twinkies, MacDonald's, and a corn-fed, carnivorous diet are entitled to their choice to continue doing so. What is not okay is that those of us who would like to return to a diet rooted in local sources that does not have detrimental effects on our bodies or the environment and supports local economy  must continuously search for those resources. Why is it that New York State is the largest producer of apples in the country, but our supermarkets sell primarily apples produced in Washington State? Why is it acceptable that low- income families can afford processed, cheap, and unhealthy food, but do not have access to healthy, local options? Inaccessibility and ignorance are the issues to be corrected and there is nothing elite about it.
       Perhaps this is why the issue is such a delicate one. On one hand, we need to educate consumers to make more environmentally responsible choices. On the other hand, we cannot completely eliminate parts of the industrial food system that stand today. This problem causing the issue is the freedom to support industrial agriculture. The solution is providing more choices for those of us who like to use our freedom of choice to support a sustainable and local food system. Whether you are on board is up to you. However, I won't accept the negative and elitist connotations commonly associated with the sustainable food movement when we are working towards the well-being of all of mankind and the planet as a whole. Someone needed to say it.