Food Justice

I open the frig, look in, pick through three shelves of food looking for just the right thing; you know that comfort food that will hit the spot. Not finding it, I call out to my wife, "Hey, there's nothing to eat in here!"

I speak often to people about the America systems that hoard resources in affluent communities, and about abusive corporations that hoard wealth and influence. But I have to be honest about my own hoarding. Is the abundance in my cupboards ethical in a world where my Haitian neighbors, and thousands of others around the world are starving to death each day?

Jessica and I have started to ask ourselves hard questions about how we relate to our food. Should we eat food that exploits workers, the environment, and our animals? How can we afford to eat ethically produced foods? What is the role of food in our life, survival or something more?

Last night at Baltimore Woods Nature Center, where I work, there was a community gathering where about a half dozen local farmers and their families came to share with us how they look to produce food ethically, and about the challenges they face in doing this. We watched the documentary "Fresh", which looks at creative ways people are overcoming challenges to producing food sustainably.

Can we partner with local farmers in new and creative ways to get ethically produced food? Can we start our own urban agriculture experiment? Can we save resources by eating less meat and being creative with the bounty of other foods available to us? Can we eat less overall, saving money that can be spent on ethically produced food, or shared with the hungry?

I would encourage us all, just as the farmers we talked with last night did, to ask hard questions about our food and how we relate to it.