The Goods Are Odd

As far as panel discussions go “Food for the Next Administration”, a panel put on by Agriculture in Metropolitan Regions, was a bit of a love-fest with leaders of food system reform. While this didn’t provide for a heated discussion they certainly covered intelligent ways of framing the principles of a healthy sustainable food system for policy reform on a national level.

Michael Dimock, president of Roots of Change discussed prioritizing these fundamental principles while raising these issues to a national and mainstream conversation:

Change the current goals which frame the system- currently the goal is cheap calories, shift this to health (of humans, communities, planet) and food sovereignty; Keep the process of feeding people properly connected to the health care system and ensure local control through national policies that support the regionalization of food.

Secretary of State of Minnesota, Mark Ritchie, had such a deep and broad understanding of these issues there was mention of him possibly filling the cabinet position on agriculture. I will take any opportunity there is to hear him speak again, he is spot on. Great to hear a non-Californian perspective on eating locally, how to make the case for local food systems in difficult climates (hint cabbage and canning). Of particular relevance was his insight into the the ways in which misguided or non-existent regulation is at the source of the crises in the food and financial sectors.

In regards to how the next president might specifically approach the issues with our food system Michael Pollan raised the point, which he will apparently also be addressing in the next Sunday NYTimes Magazine, that though the candidates do not address food issues per se in their stump speeches they do address them in their three main focuses of climate change, energy independence, and health care. Clearly no progress can be made to these agenda items without addressing the failing food system. More on Pollan’s point and specifics about the candidates position (or lack thereof) of food issues, see recent Grist article “Politics and the dinner table”

Judith of Full Belly Farms was very encouraging with her platform for a family farmer for every household. Why not? She also noted that the three newest and growing types of farmers are young people, women, and immigrants. (They have apprenticeships …tempting isn’t it?) Her farm is to be commended for their attention to labor, she spoke very well valuing of those that do physical work for the rest of us to live and also made the important point that a diverse farm like hers (versus a sprawling monoculture) can provide year-round work. This is crucial for allowing workers to have roots (so to speak) in their community and continuity in their lives.

Again, it being a food system reformer love fest the discussion continued to feel uplifting an encouraging (and I can’t say that wasn’t appreciated). Michael Pollan laid out his idea of the Sunshine Agenda, getting food off oil and back on solar power- shocking concept really.

Ultimately, the next administration is unknown so the question of what it should do on food issues was a little open ended and the conversation was all over the map. Eventually it got down to the responsibility of the consumer and, since it was held on a college campus, how to get involved. (Dimock encouraged everyone to work in DC, so props to the Blumenauer team for your hard work).

The take home message for me was not so much about the role of the president, but really about our personal role as consumers. Even, actually I think especially, during a time of great economic uncertainty it is crucial to support the positive aspects remaining in our food system and resist buying into cheap food. We need to convince producers that the bottom line is health and fairness, not cheap calories. Cheap food pays companies who only pay their workers enough to buy more cheap food and we see no progress.

As I try to demonstrate in previous and future posts there are ways to buy into better food by being aware of what you buy, what you cook, and the ways in which these two things can save you money in other areas even though, yes, you may in some cases have spent more on the actual food.

The more of us that do this the more of an impact it will have.

On that note, one more point made at this talk was the call to have the next president turn the White House lawn into a functional organic kitchen garden. More about that can be read here with TheWhoFarm folks and their wacky bus (Which I saw outside the Obama Office in my neighborhood and assumed it was a Burning Man piece)

So, with a eye towards all these issues, Vote with Your Fork at your next shopping trip and Vote on election day.