It's almost that time when so many of us create New Year's resolutions. I just had a conversation about it the other night, in fact. There's always the good-ol' stand-by: lose weight/get in shape/eat better. I myself have a similar goal: get my arms to look like Michelle Obama's. Those of you who know what her arms look like know what I'm talking about...
Arms and weight are not the point of this, though. But food, and the bellies the food goes into, ARE the point of this. I've been reading a lot about food recently. More and more people in my age group are turning to farming as a means to connect with their food, create a "living" in a way that is meaningful to them, or live a life that is separated from the corporate world that we have grown up and dissatisfied with. Also, I like Civil Eats a lot. I've been reminded of why I avoid lots of soy, as well as inspired me to continue to look into avenues to work with young people to create healthy, tangible change that is beneficial to all. Cool new things that are happening all over the place, things that big parts of me really want to be involved in...like with my hands, digging and planting and watering and caring and harvesting. Maybe one day I'll be able to participate in that form. For now I am making a New Year's resolution list of my own that specifically focuses on food. It will be interesting, though, because I am on a new very very VERY limited budget so that I may free myself in more ways from the ties that connect me to Big Banks and all they represent. That, though, is another topic for another time. My point is this: that I have a very limited budget that can be spent on food, I live somewhat out of the way of any major grocery store, and while I do have the option to eat food for free I know is not the kind of food I want to, or can without consequence, eat for the long term.
So, on to the list of revolutions, I mean, resolutions for my food and my eating for the coming year:
1. Eat food that nourishes me, and that has nourished the land. I will make sure that the food I buy has been sustainably farmed and that the farms where it comes from take care of, and even protect, the land that it is on.
2. Eat lower on the food chain - much lower. I am a shameful lover of many meat products. While I very sincerely believe that animals are an inherent part of farms, they themselves should not be farmed. If I eat meat only once in a blue moon I will enable myself to buy the good stuff. That is, meat that comes from animals that have lived and frolicked in the sunshine, eaten foods that are natural for them to consume, and have never been given any sort of growth hormone or antibiotics. In addition, these meats will come from local producers. Thankfully where I live in the Santa Cruz Mountains this will not be difficult, nor will it be when I am in the Sacramento area visiting my parents.
3. Cook with intention; eat with intention. My goal is that the prepared food that I eat is the culmination of an enjoyable cooking process. Hopefully some of my meals will help create or foster community, which is just as an important piece of the food puzzle as the food itself. Next step: eat with intention. Scarfing down food needs to be a thing of the past for me. I want my food to satisfy my soul AND my appetite!
4. Connect with growers. There are more small farms in a 15 mile radius of me than I have fingers...and maybe even toes. I want to try and visit these to speak with the growers and care takers and see the magic that they work.
5. Stay in my budget while not compromising my food quality. I have read that Americans spend only 6.9% of their total income on food. That seems like a shockingly low percent to me. What kind of food does that buy? Most likely cheap, overly processed food that has traveled a long ways to get to the table. I'm not perfect by any means, but I am learning and realizing how to do things "better."
6. Learn more and be able to share what I learn, while at the same time not becoming self-righteous about the topic. We all know someone who has gone on some learning quest, and while it's great for them we are not on that same path with them but somehow feel obligated to agree with everything they're saying. I'm going to do what's right for me. If someone can find something of use or importance, great. If not, that's cool too.
We can not survive without food. But we, as a human species, also can not survive with the way most things (food included) have been manufactured and produced in the last century. I know there is a better way, and I am seeking it out! Have a healthy, historic, HAPPY NEW YEAR! Happy 2012!!!
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