Food, Glorious Food! Applying Our Values to Our Veggies

(Adapted from the Principia Pilot.)
The people I admire most are those who truly embody their values, and I strive to do the same. Some of my most basic and essential values stipulate the health and happiness of all humans and the natural treatment of animals and Earth. Why then, have I been eating food that denies those very things? Well, I’ve decided to stop.

“Modern eating is all about forgetting,” Harvey Ussery, a self-proclaimed modern homesteader, said. Perhaps more than forgetting, it’s about ignoring. It’s not necessarily our fault that most people don’t know much about where food comes from or how to grow it, which they could hardly help but know in times past.

But once we know even the first thing about food production, how can we consume meat and vegetables that rely on antibiotics and other chemicals to make it to our lunch lines—chemicals, those are, that sicken livestock, poison field workers, and pollute our waterways?

The people who work on banana plantations in Latin America and West Africa are subjected to poisonous agrochemicals every day, and the banana by-products are so steeped in these chemicals that they can’t decompose. That is why I no longer eat bananas unless they're Fair Trade. Unless organic or otherwise ensured, dairy products come from cows treated with artificial hormones that have been banned by several countries due to their negative effects on the cows and, in turn, the humans who eat those dairy products. That is why I only drink organic or local milk. Conventional chocolate is often made with cacao from plantations that utilize child labor. That is why I’ve decided to buy only Fair Trade chocolate. While I’ve successfully abstained from eating bananas and am getting better at resisting chocolate, I’m sometimes forced to eat conventional foods when the alternatives just aren't available.

Yes, organic foods tend to cost more than conventional foods, and I don’t presume that everyone has the immediate means to expand their food budget. But do you know why organic food costs more to begin with and why low-income families are forced to choose junk food over vegetables? It has a lot to do with the fact that federal subsidies from 1995-2005 were .37 and 1.91 percent for fruits and veggies and nuts and legumes, respectively, while meat and dairy production made up for 73.8 percent of food subsidies and grains for 13.23 percent. Healthier, more natural food isn’t inherently more expensive. I find it useful to remember that, while corporate and processed foods are often lighter on our wallets in direct transactions at the supermarket, they carry much greater public health costs in the long run.

I should also mention that even the organic label compromises some of the ideals I’m talking about. While organic may mean that animals are living a more natural life and our food is healthier for the lack of chemical fertilizers, it says nothing about the treatment and livelihood of its workers. Furthermore, a lot of the organic foods one can buy are made by the same corporations that make all the foods I’m trying to avoid (Pepsi owns Naked Juice, Coca-Cola owns Odwalla, Dean owns Silk and Horizon, Kellogg owns Morningstar and Kashi, Kraft owns Back to Nature and Boca Foods, and so on). Organic Valley, on another hand, is a co-op, buying food from small farms around the country, but because of its high demand as a national supplier, it can only accept member farms that produce a certain amount of food, and thus puts smaller organic farms out of business.

While supporting the organic industry keeps harmful chemicals out of our water- and bloodstreams, oftentimes truer accountability is owed to local industries. But “local” is also a buzzword. What I mean by it is an accessible operation in which I know that the food is being grown in a healthy way for all of the plants, animals, and people involved. Many small farms use all or mostly organic products and humane practices, but aren’t technically organic because of the ordeal it takes to get certified. When farmers come in face-to-face contact with community members, those members can trust the farm's practices, whether or not it has a certified label.

So I’m on my way to sitting happy as a locavore, but especially when I'm at school, that’s a tall order. Small colleges across the country offer alternative menus with local and organic foods because their students want healthier, more just food. I'm a student at Principia College, a school for Christian Scientists with a spiritual calling to free the captives of sorrow and sin, to love our neighbors as ourselves, and to uphold high moral standards. Why, then, are we still contributing to the industries that exploit and sicken human workers and animals alike? Principia and other institutions that aren't already doing so have an opportunity to vote with their dollars and support the right models of food production.

And now for the favorite question: What can you do? If you live on a campus with limited dining options, you can let the dining services and administration know how you feel. Student support is often a big incentive for improvement. And no matter where you are, you can make informed choices about the food you buy and educate others about what’s behind the label. Do your best to buy from local companies and stay away from harmful ingredients (long chemical names are a good sign). If you can’t completely revamp your food budget, consider switching to organic with just a few of the things you use most often, like milk, potatoes, bananas, apples, peanut butter, and ketchup, for example. A great first step is simply being more conscious of what you’re eating and choosing to apply your ideals to your diet.

And the best part is that foods produced without harm to people, animals, and Earth are less harmful to those who eat them too, and they taste a whole lot better for it! One of my very favorite things is cooking up a meal with friends using ingredients that I can confidently vouch for, that put a smile on my face and warmth in my heart because I know that I’m not compromising my ideals by eating them. Try it sometime – or better yet, every time! 

Writer’s note: I can’t begin to touch on every side of these issues or make every good suggestion. Here are some resources for more information: I have read all or parts of Small Wonder Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan, Blessed Unrest by Paul Hawken, Deep Economy by Bill McKibben, as well as writings of Thich Nhat Hanh, Wendell Berry, Samuel Fromartz, Thomas Starrs, Mark Bitman, and Ed Hamer, and I recommend all of them. Most of the information for this column came from excerpts in a discussion course reader called Menu for the Future,published by the Northwest Earth Institute. I’m happy to lend you that or other readers, or you can visit nwei.orgfor more information. Stats came from sustainabletable.org, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy’s 2006 report, cornucopia.org, nytimes.com, organicandnaturalexperience.com, foodnews.org, sierraclub.org, and farm.ewg.org.