The separations that have been made between those who grow the food and those who eat the food, if only that link could be closed…miracles would start to happen” – Vandana Shiva
Relationships with food must include a relationship with the environment; the environment is inclusive of the cultural, physical, and political aspects that comprise every item we see in the grocery store.
A few weekends ago I joined two other FoodWork’s fellows, Grace and Sarah, for a day at Common Good City Farm. This urban farm is truly a unique part of DC. On the farm, it felt like I was so far removed from the city; the wooden gate and sprouting vegetables prevented me from thinking about the world I was not currently and physically interacting in and communicating with.
I was excited to spend the day weeding and eager to tackle the tasks in the garden that lay before me. I crouch down, balancing in a squat position, with my back slightly arched, and my hands completely entrenched in the dirt as it squeezes its way beneath my fingernails.
Unfortunately, most of the world’s food supply does not come from carefully tended organic farms like this one. For the most part, the focus is on the quantity, rather than the quality of yields. This approach does not promote biodiversity and fails to recognize that we do not have an endless supply of resources.The economic and ecological sustainability of our agricultural system is thus severely threatened.
Environmental issues (i.e. global warming) can feel so far removed and not substantial enough to make individual changes to our daily routines. Some underestimate the impact small changes can collectively have on a farmer and the impact on the environment. Farming, however, can help one appreciate what it takes to achieve what is sometimes taken for granted. The labor that is put into food is not truly acknowledged until one has to do it themselves. In order to be conscious of the thankless work farmers and environmentalists do to preserve culture and ecological diversity one must experience it for oneself.
I enjoyed this post, Jeanne, because of the way it reinforced the value of experience in education and citizenship alike. Dewey’s approach to experiential education is a major influence, in fact, on the increasing prominence of internships within college curricula. So it’s highly pertinent, as well, to our entire FoodWorks experience. Beyond the educational context, it’s important to the larger health of our society. Unless we know how to grow food on a concrete, personal basis, we can’t appreciate the labor and skill of those who harvest most of the food we and our neighbors eat. Finally, as you say, it’s refreshing to turn off the computer, close the book, and hunker down to do some weeding!