Connections and Diversity

Maintaining skills in the kitchen and garden is significant in so many ways. It’s especially important in creating a strong connection with our food. As we were discussing during our last fifth day, growing food is caring for a living thing. We often forget that plants (and fungi) are living; and while it is obvious that the animals we raise for food are living, they are commodified and often treated like feelingless objects as well. I try to remind myself of this, and of all the work that goes into the growth and preparation of food, but it’s easy to forget and eat mindlessly. It makes me appreciate my food so much more when I keep this in mind. It also makes me feel really bad if things go to waste. For example, if meat gets thrown out it’s especially terrible, knowing an animal was killed to be eaten and we didn’t even eat it all.

My family has a garden at home, which has been a great experience for me. When we eat something out of the garden it’s so exciting because we watched the food grow and know exactly where it came from. Plus it’s so fresh. We also frequently share produce with neighbors, which helps us become closer as friends.

Upholding the skills of gardening and cooking can also preserve culture and biological diversity. Large, conventional agriculture has been focused on monoculture lately, while gardening is all about variety. This diversity helps keep and promote heirloom varieties of plants, which is also important in livestock. Maintaining diversity in food is essential because the fewer species and varieties of organisms we rely on, the more susceptible we are to severe problems if these organisms are somehow wiped out (ex: by disease, environmental conditions, etc.) And, as Wendell Berry explains in Bringing It to the Table, different organisms have developed over time to be excellently suited to the areas in which they live. Thus, having a variety of plants and animals living in the areas to which they have adapted is more efficient and less risky than raising a single organism all over under a variety of different conditions. Also, these varieties present an exciting collection of flavors and aesthetics, making gardening and eating more enjoyable. Unfortunately though, our food is less diverse than ever, and we are continuing to lose heirloom foods. Promotion of heirloom varieties and seed bank projects can help, but I think the most important thing is to change our values as a society. We should favor quality and diversity when it comes to production instead of aiming for the goal of “how much could we produce all at once?,” and I really feel gardens and small farms are the way to do this. Plus, gardening and cooking skills can help us gain independence, since we won’t have to rely as heavily on conventional agriculture and pre-processed foods from big businesses.