Week 2: Everybody needs beauty as well as bread and to stay away from mad cow disease.

There is an idea presented that if we were actually able to see where our food comes from, it will make a difference in the way that we choose food. Yet, there is more to it because of the way our societies have been framed, the way we willingly choose to be ignorant due to other constraints, and how distant we’ve become between our livestock and its arrival on our plate.

Steel ties a lot of these to the creation of the city and the way it removed people from remembering that they are another animal of the natural world. More pressure was put on the rural farmers to supply the city with food and with aid from the rise of industrialization, rails created an easier way to bring the food to the city. Was this the first step into creating the wall between people and foods origins?

More demand came about with the ability of mass transportation of food, where the farmer wasn’t milking their cows at 3am and then individually driving their milk into the city. This continued with urbanization and the move to the ‘great wen’ for jobs and other opportunities, yet the farmers and food became ever more distant. I still think we see this distance today more than ever.

Comparing this food structure in London, is the more ancient structure that originated in Greece where food stemmed from something more sacred. With the Greeks and Romans it was their life, it was celebrated with festivals, fasting, and embodied the social foundation of their lifestyles. Now, it seems that food is so secondary. Most of us enjoy eating and the taste of good snacks and meals, but it isn't more than a time of day or a temporary taste satisfaction. How did we create this shift where food became less integral into our social practices? It still exists socially and we still have food festivals and holidays upon sharing meals, but how did we get to the framework of becoming gluttonous as opposed to appreciative?

Another concept that's important to note is that even if we all changed to consuming humanely grown meats, there would be no way to keep up with the current demand of meat that is consumed, (at least within the British context to which Americans may tend to eat more). There needs to instead be a shift of the types of meat we eat and the amount that we eat them. So how can we reconcile both of these while still understanding that most people aren't going to pay the "L50 for a happy bird"?

What makes our society to apt to save and care for domestic animals such as dogs, cats, and bunnies, but so removed from caring for other animals such as cows, chickens, and turkeys?

My favorite quote of all time is mentioned in this first chapter, "Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike." This quote by John Muir has always meant for me that we need to mindful of our choices so that we can allow everyone the chance to be physically, mentally, and spiritually healthy. Somehow this quote leaves out the core recognition that the bread that is given to give strength to the body, needs to be something that is also sustainably reached. That having natural usable land is important not just for playing and praying in, but for making the bread to strengthen us all.