Just Keep Fighting

     Each morning when I wake up, I know exactly what my day will consist of, as do many of you. There are days that I attend classes, days that I work, and days (though few and far between) that are set aside for relaxation. Although sometimes I feel like there is a lot on my plate and doubt I can pull through trying times, I have to recognize that all and all my life is pretty awesome.

    There are people in this world who when awaking for the day, don’t have the luxury of knowing exactly what their day will consist of or the time to revel over minor stressors in their school, work, or family lives. These individuals must spend their morning making sure that they can support themselves and their families through another day. Fortunately, I have gotten to meet several individuals who have opened my eyes to some of the inequities in our world. Farm workers in Immokalee have shown me that I should be grateful for each day I am working and interacting in a setting where I am treated with dignity in safe conditions because for many of them, who live just 45 minutes from my home, this is not the case. But as we have learned… they are fighting.

     On Sunday November 15, 2010, several classmates and I attended a “peaceful protest” outside of a Publix grocery store in Naples to join with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and Interfaith Action in fighting for a more just future. We protested Publix in order to put pressure on the corporation to sign on to the coalition’s Pennies per Pound campaign. And though the corporation has yet to sign on and accept the requests of both the farmworkers and many of it's loyal customers, the coming together of people from all different backgrounds and beliefs to fight for the rights of other human beings was truly inspiring. 

    Seeing the protest, being a part of it, lent me the opportunity to truly consider what it was we were fighting for, why the workers were truly there. Is it simply money fueling the fight or do the unjust conditions of the workers play a role? What exactly are the workers wanting to take back and what about our society has made it possible for people to work under such unjust conditions?

     Then I realized, it's all of it. We live in a world and work under a system where labor is seen as a commodity and the laborer is not valued or connected with her/his work. Theorist Karl Marx wrote extensively about this phenomena, the idea that in order to "enhance human life beyond material necessity" one must realize their "species being," or "potential for creative and purposeful activity through work." The workers in Immokalee pick tomatoes everyday, and for many of them this work lasts the majority of their lives. But the workers will never see the fruits of their labor. It is nearly impossible to follow the course of the tomatoes from picker, to grower, to supplier, and even if a worker could, it is unlikely that s/he would ever know who finally got to eat it.

     And when we consider this, the fact that there is such a lack of connection between the laborer and the fruit of her/his labor, it becomes clear that workers are not only coming together for better pay but also are fighting for better lives. If each individual can become connected with their work and understand what is at the end of the production line they are participating in, it lends them the opportunity to make a change in that production line. They can go to the source, like the CIW has with Publix and demand fair wages and working conditions. They can benefit by passing these things on to their families and their strong values on to future generations. And most of all, they can make a change in the world by sharing their lives and experiences with others. The farmworkers in Immokalee are recognizing the "species being" that Marx discusses and it shows in their everyday actions. I hope, with them, that their actions will also help to create a more just world.

      

     

Gendered Food

We’ve been talking about the Earth Charter in this class for several weeks now and I can’t help but reflect on that first day of discussion. When we were divided into groups I must admit I did not feel like we even began to get as far into analysis of the Earth Charter as we wanted to. One of the most prominent principles that came up in our discussion was  “Affirm gender equality and equity as prerequisites to sustainable development and ensure universal access to education, health care, and economic opportunity.” It struck my group that men were not even mentioned in the “gender equality” section of this document. Even in the subsections that outline how to accomplish this equality only women are mentioned with one reference to men only under the pretext of “families.” But that doesn’t really make sense. If we are seeking to “affirm gender equality” then we need to talk about genders, not just women. So just how is food marketed to different genders and what does that say about the way we view men and women in our society?

            In order to help us determine just where we currently stand on gender issues, scholars often turn to the world around us and media provides sociologists with a lens to view society. In order to see the way food is marketed differently to men and women, there are two video’s currently broadcast on YouTube that I would like to analyze. The first is "Target Women: Yogurt" and the Second is "Baby Carrots, Eat 'Em Like Junk Food: Extreme". The first video critically examines how yogurt is marketed to women. Yogurt was once simply a snack food, stocked with nutrients and marketed as a healthy and of course fast alternative to other breakfast foods. Now yogurt is the food for women, because “clearly” they are the largest part of society that needs to focus “dieting.” Women are told that yogurt is not only convenient but its also only natural as a woman to be drawn to this food. Much like “shoe shopping and burning your bridesmaid dress”, yogurt is a staple to life if you’re female. Personally I do not find anything innate about eating yogurt. In addition, in recent years yogurt has become strongly tied to dieting. Its nearly impossible to find a yogurt that isn’t “99% fat free” or “Lite and Fit.” These companies are targeting a very specific audience and it’s working. Many women are concerned with their weight and body image. It’s important to keep in mind that these marketing techniques are used because they are effective. So really these commercials are simply a reflection of our societies pressure on women about their body image.

            So again, is gender all about women? Sure its easier to focus on the disadvantages facing women in our society but that isn’t to say men don’t suffer under societal pressures in a variety of ways as well. The second video is a parody of how many foods and products in our society are marketed as “Extreme.” I’ve noticed that often times these commercials are stocked with men, many hyper-masculine. These men are often enjoying activities such as videogames, driving cars, playing sports, etc. Again socially accepted activities for the appropriate gender are used to make a connection with their target audience. But are sports and video games really all it means to be a man? And honestly with that mentality what can we expect from young boys in the future? 

            Both of these video’s may be fun and amusing to watch, and I encourage you to watch more videos produced by these groups. But next time you do watch these or any other form of advertising that focuses on food, really watch it. Think about the messages we are receiving on a daily basis and what it means about the world around us.

My Battle with the Industrial Food System

               Throughout the past couple of months, I have been working hard to critically examine the food that I am putting into my body and the corporations, systems, and people I support when I am consuming it. Let me tell you, it’s been quite a challenge. In Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollen states that,  “the lack of a steadying culture of food leaves us especially vulnerable to the blandishments of the food scientist and the marketer, for whom the omnivore’s dilemma is not so much a dilemma as an opportunity.” This truth is all around us.

                Walk into most restaurants, supermarkets, and cafés in the Fort Myers area and you’ll probably see what I’m talking about. The food smells like food, looks like food, and often times even tastes like food, but I’m not sure you can exactly call it that. I mean, is the frozen, microwave meal honestly a meal at all? How about the nicely plated restaurant meals that are shipped in from all over the world in plastic bags then heated and re-heated in many different ways so the consumer will get the fulfilling feeling of eating a freshly made meal? How do those great-smelling and often times tasting meals make their way from the earth to our plates?

                IT DOESN’T.  This oxymoronic truth is exactly what Pollen is referring to. The ingredients in these “meals” are not actually food at all, instead the food being marketed to us is the result of a series of scientific reactions by which corporations, food scientists, and marketers are making millions of dollars and our health and knowledge of what exactly it is we’re eating are being sacrificed. Even vegetarians and vegans, people who presumably are aware of these systems or at least eating healthily, fall victim to the engineered food industry.

                Prior to a couple of months ago, I was one of those “victims.” I felt I was doing my part by eliminating meat from my diet, when I decided I was going to eat whole foods, I realized just how wrong I was. Search "whole foods on google" and you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about. It’s not until the second page, 15 links in, that you can make your way to Wikipedia, or any other site for that matter, that can tell you what the term even means.  Instead of finding foods that are natural, unprocessed, and unrefined,  we are consistently surrounded with fake man-made ingredients posing as good , often times healthy, solutions to the industrial food system.  Trying to eliminate food engineering from your diet is no easy feat. Morningstar,  Amy’s, and most other vegan and vegetarian options still use highly processed materials to create meals and going from veggie burger, to “chikin” patty, right back to veggie burger can hardly represent a well balanced healthy diet. We are being duped.

                Instead of real fruits and veggies, what we are actually consuming are “natural” and artificial flavors. In Fast Food nation, Eric Schlosser reveals that a great deal of what we eat is packed full of these ingredients and in fact, “About 90% of the money that Americans spend on food is used to buy processed food.” That’s pretty frightening.  I can’t speak for everyone else but I want actual vegetables, fruits, vitamins, and other nutrients entering my body, not something a scientist can conjure up in a test tube.

                The reality that these highly processed foods make up the majority of what we eat is frightening enough, but when you live in an area where access to whole foods is highly limited, it can taint any optimism one could cling too.  That’s normally where I find myself. Clinging to hope that I can challenge the industrial food system, but surrounded by corporations that tell me I can’t.

                Luckily this weekend, when I was beginning to feel defeated, I rediscovered hope. I was out of town, in St. Petersburg when I stumbled across Central Café and Organics. I got to see the food I was eating, watch my veggies being cut, witness the fair-trade and organic stamps marked on everything packaged, and be filled with real delicious food. I wanted to bring that hope back home with me and share my optimism with my friends so I searched and found  Chef Brooke’s Natural Café only ten minutes from my home. I’m excited to see what they have to offer and ready to begin to reestablish some semblance of faith in food.

                I’m searching for healthy solutions now and despite the fact that the industrialized food system is all around us, I’m excited to see what change local farmers and business owners can make and ready to commit myself to take part in that challenge.

*References

Pollen, Michael. (2006). The Omnivores Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. London, UK: Penguin Books.

Schlosser, Eric. (2002). Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. New York: Perennial Books.