After reading the excerpt from Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation, it prompted me to reflect on how lifeless the food we are eating now. Going through worker to worker, factory to factory, the road from Farm to Table gets increasingly longer, and the meaning of food is lost along the way. This is a reason why I enjoy exploring neighborhoods with small businesses in my own time. Growing up surrounded by large chain stores, it is very rare to see a nice coffee shop owned by someone who really cares about and have passion for what they do. I often describe these as “businesses with a heart” and the food experience is always great because you can feel the effort put in it. Yet eating at a fast food restaurant is an entirely different experience. Have you ever been amazed by a fast food restaurant burger? No. We call it “fast food” because we don’t even think it’s worth it to spend time and slowly enjoy it. It is a lifeless hamburger made of machinery that is devoid of emotions.
Schlosser’s points were quite negative, but after reading McKibben’s “Oil and Honey”, I find that there are always some exceptions. Not all commercial producers are heartless and only economically driven. I admit that I also thought Kirk, the beekeeper, was only a businessman interested in money when he first said: “I just hope global warming hasn’t ruined the possibilities of a run of good honey years”. However, he changed my mind when he said “I so enjoy producing these crops”. As mentioned in Schlosser, with so many corporate companies taking over farms, it is rare to see producers who are actually passionate about what they are doing. This line shows that Kirk really had the passion for bee-keeping. He justifies his work by explaining that he only takes the excess honey produced by the bees and also provides them support when needed. I love listening to these different stories at farmers markets and learn about how much people love their job. They obviously do care for their animals and make sure that there is a fair exchange and as a result, I also make sure to appreciate the food that I buy from them because of the work involved.
It really is Ironic and quite saddening to think that our food -the source of our nourishment and, really, life- can be described as lifeless, but I think that in many cases that’s an accurate description. Fast food isn’t precisely the tastiest, and eating at a fast food restaurant isn’t usually a memorable thing. I agree that the whole experience lacks essence, and that this essence or meaning is gradually lost in all the stages of food manufacturing. We are so far removed from the origins of our food that it’s meaningless. The reason why farmers markets and small “mom and pop” shops are so appealing to a lot of people is that they don’t go through this process, making us feel closer to what we are getting and transmitting the “meaning” and good vibe that passionate work radiates. That’s also one of the things I like about Middlebury (and Vermont in general) that, even in the midst of our hectic routines during the semester, it is relatively easy to get out and find local produce from a farm, or even the co-op, and establish a connection with our food.
thanks