MyWestworld

Vote with Your Fork

Posted on 16. Jun, 2009 by Bernice Paul in Living

The first time I read anything written by Michael Pollan was in April 2008. It was Pollan’s contribution to the New York Times‘ 2008 Green Issue, Why Bother? – a piece that focused on our temptation to resist changing our behaviours for the sake of sustainability. For as the argument went at the time (and still does in some circles): Why bother committing an act of green? What net positive impact, if any, can such an act have?

Pollan’s views moved me,  poignantly,  because I was personally struggling with this exact same issue. I was in the thick of my MBA studies and feeling discouraged because most of what I was learning about finance and strategy was in direct conflict with the subject matter in my classes on sustainability. Then, a few months later, the global economy was deeply shaken and (thankfully) the thinking in these fields, and most other areas of economic study, began to align. Today there is no argument: we need a new way of doing things, including a new way of approaching food in North America.

This June, sustainable food enthusiasts were treated to an engaging talk by Michael Pollan himself. The sustainable food guru was at Vancouver’s UBC Farm in B.C. to promote his latest book In Defense of Food and discuss North America’s cultural disconnect with the foods they eat. He calls ours a cultural eating disorder: an obsession with health that doesn’t actually lead to better health. For example, Pollan notes that since the ’80s launch of the States’ fat-free campaign (and subsequent fat-free obsession), Americans have never suffered more from obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Our health care systems have also been crippled by the fallout from these chronic medical conditions.

At Vancouver's UBC Farm: sustainable food enthusiasts line up to hear Michael Pollan's take on the issues.

It’s About What, How and Why We Eat

Culturally, says Pollan, we also need to reconsider what we purchase to eat and where we make those purchases. Do we know where our food comes from? Do we know how our food was processed before it became a meal on our plates? These are complex questions that go well beyond choosing local or organic – both are good choices, but one can be better than the other, depending on what you’re eating and where you live. Unfortunately, as consumers, we like things to be made as simple as possible for us; we don’t like making tough decisions, particularly when we are presented with limited information.

Each day we have at least three opportunities to vote with our forks. And every time we choose to eat from a sustainable food system (whether it’s fair trade coffee beans or herbs grown on Neil’s balcony), we’re adding to the groundswell of consumer demand for change. What does our demand support? Well, I have noticed that Choices Market recently opened a new store in Kelowna and that Overwaitea Foods has committed to a sustainable seafood policy. Then there’s the fact that more and more restaurants are getting onside with locally farmed and raised produce and products. (And all this despite an economic recession.)

Yet let’s not forget to reflect on the importance of why we eat. Yes, we eat primarily to satisfy our functional need for essential nutrients (another ‘symptom’ of our cultural eating disorder, according to Pollan), but we also eat to celebrate community, family and the soul. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the Food Network has seen a significant increase in viewer popularity in the last few years. It seems everyone is getting re-acquainted with their kitchens and cookbooks. And in the process we’re also getting reacquainted with  the value of sharing meals: how doing so nurtures relationships and community spirit. Culturally speaking, I can’t think of a better reason to eat.

Lead photo courtesy of Mark Andrew Boyer/ OrganicNation.tv

Tags: Culinary Travel, Environment, Sustainability