well, isn't this cute.
This summer I'm working at a pretty cool organization in DC. Its called the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs (AFOP for short. We're big on acronyms where I come from.) It's a small little office with a really big heart that does a lot to raise awareness on issues important to farmworkers throughout the U.S. This morning our organization hosted a public screening of the documentary "The Harvest/La Cosheca" which follows the lives of 3 migrant children who work in the fields to support their families. It's a touching film, especially as these young kids articulate precisely the problems and faults of our government regarding the farmworkers and their rights. Its quite sad that our society seems to care more about the ease of access and commodity of things like food and labor than it does for the people that actually help provide them.Our country's history seems to perpetuate the idea that there is always a group of people needed to be the stepping stool. There's always a group; poorer, less fortunate, more in need, that is "available" to do the work no one else really wants to do. But of course, since we
need the cheap food/labor, its ok to keep our workers underpaid and without fair and equal rights. Really? This dialogue of consumer ease and comfortability that our society has accepted is so sad. It's pathetic to realize how distant we are from our food and the people that allow it to end up on our tables.The truth is, there are many directions that this conversation points to. But one of the most important issues I think is our relationship with food and what has become of it.
Consumption (of food in particular) is one of the most organic and intimate parts of daily life. Eating food is the act of being able to put something into our bodies that helps to both restore and sustain our life. For some, we are able to pick and choose the foods that we are
intimate with. For others not as fortunate, there are fewer options and less acts of food intimacy to partake in. But when we do have the ability to chose what we but into our mouths, shouldn't we be more conscious of how it got there? Now, before I get crazy eyes from anyone reading this, hear me out. It's a good thing to know where you food came from, to know that the people who picked it are not being exploited, to know that food you are eating has not been pumped with chemicals to grow quicker and fatter (ps. I just watched "Food Inc." as well. Betcha couldn't tell.) It's a good thing to be able to know all this. But the truth is, even with knowing all this, its still hard to afford those better choices. But guess what, asking questions... that will always be free! So ask. Go ahead, it's okay. Ask where your hamburger patties came from, ask who picked your overly priced winter asparagus (in the summer!) Go ahead, ask, because when you ask you open up the dialogue for more people to be informed about making smarter choices about the food we eat and how it gets to us.
and scene.
