A Class Act on Food

Tom Philpott over at Grist has an extremely thoughtful essay on Slow Food exploring tough issues like  elitism in the sustainable foods movement.

For all its good work -- and despite its roots within the Italian labor movement -- Slow Food has itself been hounded by charges of elitism. The critique goes like this: Who but a rich few can spend time wringing their hands over whether, say, a cheese that's been made in some Tuscan village for hundreds of years goes extinct -- a cheese that only the well-off can afford anyway?

Yet Slow Food's class problem really applies to the sustainable food movement in all industrialized nations, including the U.S. In short, our economy runs on cheap food; many people rely on it to feed themselves; and advocates of farmers' markets, CSAs, and organic food are asking people to pay more for food without giving them a strategy for raising wages.

The movement is caught between two poles, of wanting to provide more affordable food but also trying to maintain a decent living for its farmers. Closing that gap, Philpott argues, is a primary challenge for the movement ahead.

Comments

[deliberately]

I'm not yet convinced that eating locally and sustainably is not economically viable. If the objective is to eat 3800 calories a day, which many quote as the national average, then maybe it's impossible for the working poor to feed themselves at the farmers market. If the objective is 2200 calories a day, it becomes more economically viable. Also, with scale prices will fall. So some of it is just a "chicken and the egg" discussion that needs to be, and is being, seriously investigated by people who are passionate about the idea. Slow Food is just one example of the collaboration toward that end.

[Rachel]

You might want to view the link below for an interesting read that challenges those who believe that eating sustainably is too expensive:

http://www.sustainabletable.org/blog/archives/2007/04/eating_local_to.html

Not to sound trite or elitist, but I think people need to see beyond financial expense. What does it cost your body? The environment? Your neighborhood?

There are certainly ways, for many Americans, to budget appropriately for healthy foods. However, people trust what is in the stores all too often. While I think convenience for those with a busy schedule tops the priority list, the education regarding food-related issues is absent in most cases. And let’s face it, it is rightfully labeled “a challenge” to eat locally and sustainably on a limited budget. But it can be done as demonstrated by passionate folks from every area, who are paving the path for a brighter future.