Bonus Blog: Separating My Interests From My Passions

Separating My Interests From My Passions

Throughout this semester, I have taken into account multiple positions in the world of food systems planning. Whenever I came across an interesting job in this field, I would instantly scope out the position to see if it was something I could see myself pursuing in the near future. After doing a lot of researching I instantly became overwhelmed with all the different opportunities. I struggled to find a career in the food systems planning field that matched my passions. It wasn’t until the end of my internship at the Frenchtown Heritage market that I realized my curiosity for food systems planning was just an interest and not a passion of mine. To me, an interest is being so intrigued in a topic where you are inspired to learn more about it. However, I define a passion as having more than just an academic attachment to a topic but also having a strong emotion and connection to the topic. I want my passion to be something that I could see myself joyfully committing my time and dedication to for the next 30 to 40 years of my life. I will definitely incorporate all of my knowledge of food systems planning into my passion of helping to sustain traditional medicine and cultural history of indigenous and minority communities in both the Caribbean and Latin America. Being still very interested in food systems planning, I could see myself playing an interactive part time role and not a full-time role in the field. Therefore, I do not see myself working in food policy, food planning, nor a community organizer in the field of food systems planning. Instead, I see myself playing an indirect role as a naturopathic physician serving to sustain traditional medicine and cultural history of indigenous and minority communities in both the Caribbean and Latin America.

Final Reflection

When I first started attending Florida State University I had no idea that I would end up taking any sort of class that dealt with food, but frankly I'm glad I did. This course coupled with my Food and Environment class which I took a year ago have truly changed the way I look and and understand food. I like many other was very naive to just how complex and involved the greater food system is and what it takes to keep it going. It is very encouraging that I can leave this course feeling truly inspired and educated on an issue that so many people take for granted on a daily basis. For something that is such a huge part of our lives I feel as though we still manage to neglect the complexities of the food system, too often we don't give it any thought and just continue on with our grocery shopping. By gaining this newfound appreciation with food I hope to profess the lessons I've learned with those I meet in the future and once I've settled into my new surroundings I hope I can get involved with local food groups by preaching sustainability within local food. My passion is for the environment and how we can as a collective work to better it, with my understanding of the food system and just how much it effects the environment I am excited to continue my education in reference to how the two seem to go hand in hand.

Again I have enjoyed this class much more than I anticipated to and I feel very fortunate that I have the knowledge now to try and make an impact even if it's something as small as volunteering with local food organizations.

Thank you Professor Butler! 

Foodie

After I left class on Thursday, I found myself thinking about the question Will posed in class:

"What are you going to do with all of this, what role do you play in the food movement?"

but I realized that I am not sure how to answer the question. However I do know one thing for certain, I love food. I love eating it, sharing it, growing it, learning new recipes to make with it, and connecting with those I love over, with, and through it. Food is powerful, it can be a force that keeps us alive, or one that kills us. I believe that although food in the general sense is a universal language, good* food is not universally accessible. This is because there are barriers, big and small, that cannot be overturned simply by labeling socioeconomically depressed areas as food deserts. In fact, it might be wise to throw that term out of the window--as these areas are not dry, they are alive. Soaked in culture, social connections, assets, and stories. 

I want to be a part of a movement that teaches people how to feed themselves. It doesn't mean that everyone has to become a urban farmer, attend farmers' markets, or be apart of a CSA. It means finding good food for all (across race, socioeconomic status, and neighborhood), rekindling social networks that were once present in the market place, and reconnecting with our farmers. As we have learned this semester, the food movement is not a silo-ed mission--we must board the collaboration station getting our educators, researchers, policy makers, movers and shakers, and neighborhood champions, united. Although I'm not sure where I fall on the list, I do know that I want to take all that I've learned this semester and jump in. 

*As I understand it, "good" can be boiled down to mean food that is green, fresh, fair, and accessible.

Bonus Reflection

What role would I play in the food system after taking this course? To be honest, I don't think I will ever have a career in food systems planning. I took this course because I did not know much about the origins of most of our food and how it is distributed among communities in this nation. With that being said, my role in the food system would just be a consumer. Most people don't realize, but consumers have a lot of influence over the products that companies sell, and public policies that are put in place by local planners. If I want to support a a particular brand, I will buy products from that brand and urge my friends to do the same. On the other hand, if I dislike a company's product or practices, I will abstain from buying any of there products and urge my friends to do the same.

But, the only way for consumers to have significant power is if we all stick together and get behind a product or a cause. One consumers decision to buy or boycott a certain product will not get you very far; you need a large group of people to make an actual impact.

extra week blog reflection

When answering the question of where do I fit within the current food system the answer would be with a local organization—something I’m already doing. Restoration Orchard is a local organization that I began working with in September. I’ve seen it develop from a garden and an idea to what we are calling phase 2. What I like about the organization is that it encompasses a few different elements within the food system—from health to justice to business. I recognize that I can’t change the whole system as an individual but I can change and control my own actions which in turn can ripple into other things. Even since going vegetarian then vegan my freshman year of high school I saw how that impacted my family’s eating habits and eventually friends. I see food as not just nutrition but also as community-building. This is why I find grassroots organizations to be essential in changing the flaws in the food system. Maybe I can’t stop Iceland from whaling or Nutella from killing orangutans in southeast Asia, but I can choose to produce and educate those in Tallahassee willing to learn and participate.

Week BONUS: My Food Future

Dr. Butler asked us on Thursday "Where would you be in the food system?" I think earlier on in the semester, I would have answered this question with "As a local planner advocating for food from inside the government. Someone inside that can support local community efforts with policy and planning tools."

However, at this point in the semester, I don't see myself taking on this role. I think a much smaller role may be more up my alley. I'd rather be on the ground with the community, and indeed part of the community, doing small tasks at the neighborhood scale. I'd rather be a "Food Ambassador" from the neighborhood interacting with planners. Like a middle man, between the community and the local government. Someone who can assist in running a small community garden or farmers' market while also not afraid to dive into local politics for food needs. All of this may prove to be too ambitious as it starts to sound like a full time job.

I have no clue where I'll end up or what I'll be doing. Perhaps a more off-to-the side approach to food is more realistic for me, like having my own garden or community garden plot. But since the food system is so broad and linked to everything, I do know for certain that whatever I end up doing as a career, food will be related in one form or another.

Paper or Plastic, Local or Big Ag

     Is local food the new paper versus plastic bag argument? Local food is great in theory- you support small business owners, you support what you think is a "just" operation, and you think you're supporting a more environmentally stable version of agriculture. But, much like the grocery bag argument, there are unforeseen variables. Paper bags are biodegradable; but plastic bags are lighter and often more durable thus making them easier to transport and, supposedly, less fossil fuel intensive. This is an issue I've come across a lot as an Environmental Studies major- the dichotomy between what we think is morally righteous and the realistic truth of the matter. We like to talk about reducing consumption and shopping smartly, but in the end most of us still use straws once and awhile and have full trash cans hidden in the corners of our kitchens. While I avoid meat partially for environmental reasons I still wonder if the highly processed fake 'chikken' I buy, made from soy and miscellaneous chemicals, is much better at all. Like Branden Born and Mark Purcell point out, our fixation on conscious consumption through local food seems to confuse the ends with the means and the goals with the strategies. If the end result that we strive for is ecological sustainability, social justice, democracy, nutrition, food security, freshness, and quality, do we need to fight for local?

     Like the concepts of "Fair Trade"or "Cruelty Free," we feel good about our locally grown purchases. Scanning the aisles of Whole Foods, we pat ourselves on the back when we grab that local hummus. In fact, I was even annoyed to have my bubble burst when I started to read that my efforts to make it out to farmers markets might not even be that beneficial for anyone but my ego.  Laura B. DeLind makes the point that there are numerous alliances of local foodies- from survivalists, environmentalists, artisans, to the labor unions, the healthy, and even the unhealthy. However, this is a movement driven by the idea that an individual thinks their local hummus can change the deeply ingrained issues with our agricultural system.

     As DeLind points out, this can effectively cause people to take a back seat to real social change. By thinking your hummus is saving the world, you are displacing the responsibility of standing up and making a wave of change. It also pushes that by consciously consuming, you are somehow a better consumer. You're still consuming for me, the individual, rather than looking at the collective of we. The fixation on the individual consumer rather than the community makes one question what the intention of the movement is at all. Perhaps this is when Marcia Campbell's point about identifying major stakeholders comes into play for progressive environmental and public policy change.  However, I would argue that it is not within the consumer's control to create collective public action towards a better food system. There can be key players in creating change, but in the end the decision materializes as the monetary exchange between their wallet and their business of choice. When people ask what difference it would make for one person to stop eating meat, you have to tell them that every dollar you spend on something is a vote of approval. It's the concept that an ocean is made up of droplets or a desert is made up of tiny particles of sand. I understand the arguments DeLind makes, but I think collective action by consumers has made our food industry evolve in the past- if producers can see what the people are really looking for through "local food," hopefully they strive to embody those views rather than greenwashing their products.