Bryan Walsh’s article in Time Magazine, Foodies Can Eclipse (and save) the Green Movement, was a nice start to my morning. It got me thinking about this work in the Food Movement and what it means to be part of it right now.
When asked what got me into food work, I can trace my steps through every job and volunteer gig and educational experience and global excursion and see how with each one my awareness of the food system was heightened. And I can also look through my personal experiences and see how gardening with my father as a kid, as well as watching friends and family struggle with eating disorders has shaped the role of food in my life. But sometimes, what it really comes down to is that food is central to everyones life. We all eat. We all need food. And what and how we we eat affects our mind, bodies, spirit; it affects the environment, health care, economic systems, employment, and cultural traditions of farming, and preparing and preserving food. So really the question is, how can we focus so intently on anything else?
The food movement has an incredibly uniting force to it. While in some spaces the food movement can seem homogenous – a lot of idealistic, young, white women (just like me!) fill the conferences I attend – but the real food movement, not just those of us in non-profits who are fortunate to receive a salary for this work, is really everywhere, in every community around the country in some form. And that’s part of what makes the work so exciting. It has the power to unite across political parties, to build community across race and class divisions, and unite sectors that have never collaborated, but should. Sure there are differences of opinions on many of the “hows” of the food movement, but its relevance and the way it plays into something that everyone loves (food) is really a catalyst in making great things happen.
What’s your relationship to the food movement? Have you joined a CSA? Shopped at a farmers’ market? Planted a garden? Learned to cook from scratch? Left the city to become a farmer? We all have a piece in the movement – share your story!
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