So, folks in the comment thread on yesterday’s post want to talk about class and the food system, and the ways in which conversations about sustainability are so very classed (and, often, classist).
To which I say: Word!
And then it’s kinda hard to know what else to say.
Ok, not really. But kinda.
Here’s my deal: I’m committed to an accessible approach to sustainable food, from pricing my book at $10 to focusing on afforable ingredients like rice and beans, greens, potatoes, etc. and teaching tips and techniques to make do with what you have around rather than relying on spendy specialized ingredients; from talking about food deserts in the same context as my favorite farmers market to including organizing resources in the back of my cookbook.
But when it comes time to talk about solutions to the many class-based problems with the U.S. food system—and there are so many: the concentration of farmers markets and grocery stores in middle-class neighborhoods while low-income neighborhoods go without both, the high costs of fruits and vegetables compared with soda and chips, to name two of the most obvious—I hit a bit of a wall. ‘Cause though I cook what I consider affordable food all the time, the bottom line is that I live in one of those middle-class neighborhoods, and I’ve never wondered where the cash for my next grocery run was coming from (and I’m not naive enough to think that what I consider affordable is what everyone else does too). So I don’t have the best understanding of the challenges involved in eating well without class privilege. That all makes it a lot easier for me to talk a good game about how farm subsidies enable the corn production that produces the 99-cent value meal with a nutritional value approaching nil, but when it comes to what to do about it, the only thing I can think to say is that a hearty bean stew is really cheap and easy to make. Which is is, as long as you have a place to buy beans, kale, tomatoes, and spices.
There is one obvious, if vague, answer: organize!
This is all a long-winded way of saying that I think there’s a lot more wisdom in the commenting community here than I’ve got, though I can kick things off with some food justice and food security organizations to check out: Food First, Growing Power, The Healthy Corner Stores Network, The People’s Grocery, Detroit’s Garden Resource Program, and The Community Food Security Coalition.
But that doesn’t really go far enough, either. Unless we think holistically, we’re not gonna get the kind of food system, or the kind of world, we want.
Something that’s often in danger of getting lost in the discussion of making fresh food more affordable and accessible is the fact that farming is hard, and good labor practices can get expensive. Cheaper vegetables at the expense of farmworkers is neither sustainable nor just. So: United Farm Workers (as a California resident, I find their action alerts especially useful since many are aimed at my governor), Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Justice for Farmworkers (New York State), and Unete Center for Farmworker Advocacy (Southern Oregon). And: Physicians for a National Health Program, Healthcare Now, Single Payer Action; the National Alliance of Public Transit Advocates‘ membership directory (find a group near you); the Los Angeles Bus Riders Union; Boston’s T Riders Union; Urban Habitat’s transportation justice program.