April 12, 2010
Town Hall Meeting: Wendell Berry, Wes Jackson and Gene Logsdon
Last night I went down to Xavier University for a Town Hall Meeting with Wendell Berry, Wes Jackson and Gene Logsdon. The over riding theme of the evening was our food supply, what we are doing that is unsustainable and ideas for the future. These are three men that know the land, they know farming, and they have all been visionaries in their own way about the land as our inheritance and our future.
I was surprised the men carried a conversational critic of the Industrial revolution, a philosophical debate about man as a creature, and what it means to live in a “growth” driven society. Wes made several points about his belief of the “fall of man” that I found enlightening and Gene who is very clever and witty pointed out they were asked to come talk by the philosophy and religion department, not the agricultural department.
As Gene put it, whats happening in society when 3 farmers are asked to talk by the philosophy and religion department …
Gene went into the idea of communion, being raised as a Catholic he talked about the idea of what communion means. The important of food in a society where the people worked the land, grew the food, and had an understanding of what it means to share a meal with other people.
It gets you thinking.
We are so disconnected from our food supply, we don’t even think about what it takes to produce the food we consume, where it comes from, or what it means to able to eat until we are not hungry. When we think of our food supply we tie it to supply chains, and semi-tracks hauling food from thousands of miles away, we are reminded of marketing terms like “supply & demand” and “price controls”.
We eat for pleasure in this country … it’s not even for the calories .. its pure simple pleasure. A self-indulgent routine that’s even more unhealthy than the food we consume. We all see the organic “boom” that is happening right now. Places like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s becoming profitable business models. Over all it’s a good sign that the public is awaking to the food issue, but don’t think just because you shop at those stores you don’t have to think your relationship with food.
Every time there is a good change in public behavior that is profitable, in this case moving away from GM foods to organics, the system will be exploited to make a profit.
You can already see it in the organic food movement. In the quest to bring you “organic” food they will ship in apples from a thousand miles away when there are local orchids within 20 miles. When Walmart is trying to increase their selection of organics you have to know it’s about profits … nothing more ….. they don’t want you making a real connection between you and the food you eat.
So I think when Gene Logsdon makes the point that the philosophy and religion department, not the agricultural department invited them to speak. He makes a great point that food is about more than just eating, it’s more than just filling our bellies. The relationship we have with food is so deeply connected to how we view ourselves, the world, and instrumental in the way we connect the dots to believe about God.
That disconnect in our society where we believe everything is disposable and cheap, may come from the fact that we have never broken our backs to grow our own food. There is no appreciation for what goes in us, no appreciation for sharing a meal and having a conversation.
Remember that scene in the New Testament where the Pharisees are outraged that Jesus would go to the home of a tax collector and have dinner. I immediate think what’s so threatening about a dinner party? But take yourself out of everyday thinking, and put yourself into a world where food wasn’t just about pleasure … it’s about survival, it’s about meaning and connections. That dinner that’s put on the table didn’t get cooked in a microwave. It was grown in the backyard with what ever tools that person had, and it order to impress a guest for dinner, the host may have to barter with their neighbors to have something on the table that they didn’t grow themselves. It’s an extension of their generosity to their guest.
Sharing an evening over dinner with wine often leads to conversation … I don’t hear much conversation at McDonalds, no one is soul searching at Wendy’s eating a #2 value meal, and I doubt before you consume your whopper that you are amazed that nature grew a tomato for your sandwich.
As we move further into our “industrialized” society speeding towards a food crisis, will we come out the other end with a connection to our food? With more people being proactive and growing what ever they can themselves.
I would bet some sore backs and sweat stained shirts would go a long way in our society of putting us back on the right track. What do you thing changes inside a mans head when he grows his own food?
