Disposable Times
The capitalist mindset of our country has birthed an era of a disposable culture.
One consequence of this is that we have sacrificed the sacredness of our environment as well as of each other. It seems now that destroying the earth and possibly even our neighbors both at home and in our global community has become merely collateral damage for businesses to ‘reach the top.’
In an economy where wages are stuck in low gear, many workers are living in a climate of fear, with cases of physical violence during work. These people have become a disposable commodity, a tool in the machine of our Capitalist society. Whole communities have become marginalized and tossed to the wayside, with little to no concern for their nourishment.
The other consequence is the phenomenon of Food Deserts, areas that have a high number of fast food options and no healthy choices. The lower we travel down the socioeconomic ladder, the less options we see for fresh food in one’s immediate community.
People practice food justice by bringing urban gardens to these food deserts. This leads to more strong local food systems, self-reliant communities and a healthier environment. Many people do not see this direct correlation to our own health and the health of our environment. Therefore denying these communities of these tools for sustainable living is to ensure they remain dependent both socially and financially.
The Food Project aims to identify and transform a new generation of leaders by placing teens in unusually responsible roles, with deeply meaningful work. We see a common theme here between these urban farms and the experience of the South Central Farmers. These people are not only involving themselves in social change but deep personal change as well through a connection with something greater, their environment and their community.
To place something of meaning in the hands of someone who has nothing and then steal it away, is to say they are not deserving of a meaningful life. As one of the South Central farmer states, “For me it’s the story of life. For what are we without the land? Try planting on cement and you get nothing.” Most of us are so detached from the food we eat, that this statement would mean nothing to us. But do you ever think about where the food filling your plate was grown?
This sacredness of the land goes deeper than the nutrition it provides. Another farmers reflects, “If I went to your community and I took down your temple, your church, that’s what we’re talking about. These are our sacred things.” When we take away what is sacred to a community, or we deny them of it from the beginning, we are denying them a soul.
Another theme we are seeing in The Food project is a call for more transparency in business and government policies. Some consider these protective laws as necessary for competition between businesses. However, with a lack of transparency in business procedures we find a multitude of inhumane and unethical methods of manufacturing and producing foods.
More transparency would allow for more conscious and informed consumers. I believe we have the right to know where our food is coming from and the hands that have touched it. The more local we demand our food to be, the more transparency we begin to see in the hands it passes through.
Isn’t it time to end these disposable times?
