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What the hell is blue juice anyway?…The fast food empire
February 12, 2012
While there is much to be criticized about the fast food system and the players in the game who keep it alive, I was inspired by Ed Bruske’s story of carefully watching and trying to change what was being fed at their school. Here’s his blog, of particular attention “Tales from a DC School Kitchen”. http://www.theslowcook.com/
Occupy Movements and Agriculture
November 29, 2011
I’ve been watching the occupy movements with interest and struggling with the misunderstanding and distrust among the general public about it. People are quick to point out that the lack of common theme among the protesters and because of that, assume their inability to collectively communicate that the whole thing should be written off. I am disheartened by this process of people undermining one another and underrating their capacity to strive for something better.
The change that is being sought after is something that touches everyone of us. Its the maintenance of fair democracy, of functional and just economic systems and upholding social justice. It is important to recognize that when dealing with issues on the leading edge of societal developments, it can’t be broken down into one simple message. Its complicated. We need to begin to accept this complexity in order to approach any kind of a sustainable solution. No the protesters aren’t going to fix anything themselves, I don’t believe that for one moment, but they are the red flag in our society screaming out “Something is wrong here!”. If you dig deeper and listen to the stories, there is hope in the eloquence of young and old shining a light on the injustices in our society and shifting attention forward to our future.
But rather than blame anyone for their response to these protests, we need to understand why their thinking developed that way. Why is it that people will dismiss this movement and stand in defence of a big corporation over their fellow human being? Is it from a lack of integration of these issues into their everyday life. Since I work in the agricultural realm I thought I would try to pull out some stories on the Occupy Movements and farming. What are they saying? Where are the connections in this area? Hopefully these articles and links give you a bit of food for thought on the way you’ve been thinking about the protests. By the way, I don’t know what you think but pepper spray is not a food product.
“Finding Freedom in Handcuffs” – Chris Hedges This article put all the pieces together for me. It moved me deeply. If you are still confused about the movement or lost…this is what it is all about.
“Occupy the Food System” Eric Holt Gimenez article from the Huffington Post on progrses and resistance in the larger systems and in grass root organizations.
Food Politics – Marion Nestle A highly respected expert on the food system. Very informative blog to browse and shows complexity of food politics.
“Feed the Movement” is a group of farmers working to supply fresh food to the protesters. Its interesting to hear their support for the movement and its pretty powerful to see them reaching out to them in their own way. Watch YouTube Video
Note: If you do take the time to research the occupy movements and food, there is a bunch of stories on the farmer’s market that once stood in Zuccotti park and eventually faded away because of low demand from protesters. Please don’t spend too much time on these articles, there is a much bigger story being played out that we need to pay attention to.
