Paying attention to our relationship with what we call food
Hegemonic diets. The ‘Western’ diet is made up of a mix meat products, processed foods, refined sugars, saturated fats and carbohydrates. A diet that ideologically is based on the idea of exploring the senses and everything that can produce a new experience about the flavours of other worlds. [1] The desire to have access to special foods and the possibility to properly ship them is an ancient practice. But the colonial project added exploitative structures that went on to exponentially impact the lives of an array species and the planet —as Haraway and Tsing reflect when talking about the Plantationocene [2]. Against this history, the satisfaction of the desire for the tastes of other worlds has increasingly become an adventure of the self. A consumption of an experience that in parallel feeds one's cultural capital. The capitalocene era ultimately developed food systems and practices that leave an enormous ecological footprint [3].
Damage to the environment. The current hegemonic food systems are taking a significant toll on the environment. These systems, including the production, processing and transport of all our food, are responsible for between 20% and 35% of greenhouse gas emissions, meaning our food system is a key driver of climate change and all its knock-on consequences. Research shows that food production of meat and animal products, for example, is one of the most impactful, and therefore its steady reduction would make a positive significant impact.
Excessive food waste is another factor contributing to the climate crisis. About 6% to 8% of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced if we stopped wasting food. That’s because of the wasted emissions used to produce and transport the food that then doesn’t get used — as well as the emissions produced by rotting food sent to landfill. Buying more food that we can consume, and not getting to consume it before it spoils, is one of many reasons that contributes to food waste. It is important we learn how to store food better and discover ways to use old food to create new meals. This would help ensure to stretch already available food, making it more abundant, and contributing to mitigating the food shortage crisis and prepare us for the uncertainty of future food supply.
Our future food supply is uncertain. Notably, food production is a key driver of climate change and biodiversity losses. Both issues could, in turn, threaten our future food security, a measure of the availability of food and individuals' ability to access it. More so when the biodiversity that is crucial for our food and agriculture is expected to continue to face growing losses.
A steady change of our path towards climate disaster requires structural measures, but this doesn't mean that there is nothing that people can do to have an impact on climate conditions. There are many measures we can take and ways in which we can contribute positively. These measures are fairly well known (organic, less processed, local, less waste) and yet people are not necessarily willing to give up their usual food consumption patterns. Their reasons are plenty and understandable.
On the one hand, food is cultural and affective. But also, social change is not easy. If people struggle with low income, a chronic disease or trying to prevent one, require social assistance, don’t have adequate cooking facilities or anyone to share a meal with, then eating well and consciously can often seem or feel out of reach.
But along with the many difficulties people face when trying to eat properly, there is also the question of what people imagine to be eating well and eating for a good life. An imagination that is also supported in schools with the teaching of government food pyramids, for example. An imagination in which economic abundance and adequate nutrition are equated with the necessary consumption of meat to acquire proteins. Millions of studies and documentaries detail why meat is not only unnecessary but harmful. And yet the transmitted memory of the oppressor eating meat and the anguish of not being able to access it are stronger. As taught in school, our mothers wrongly grew up with the idea that meat is 50% of the plate, and 50% of what our bodies need. And that affective memory remains engraved in the majority of society.
How to break that affective memory? Perhaps by purposefully creating new affective memories. By telling new stories. And by questioning the notion of food as a series of products and ingredients. And in this way, making space to reveal the historical relationships of peoples with local ecosystems and beings, entities and phenomena on which we depend to live.
We live in relationships of interdependence. The very act of eating implies engulfing the bodies and matter of other beings, and in that sense, it is a reminder that we need others to survive. But it also reminds us that the production of fruits and vegetables is an indispensable labor contribution of the plant people to our existence. This perspective, can help us to think of the social life and contribution of non-human beings and with it, of our interdependence to survive.
We are what we eat and we bear the DNA markings of the plants that our ancestors historically consumed the most. So that when different indigenous peoples of the Americas call themselves the children of maize, and call the maize plant "mother maize", this is something very literal, because they were kept alive and were raised by the maize plant.
Learning about these ancient relationships and knowledges, as well as the origins of what we have come to call food can help us recontextualize how we understand our current eating patterns. As well as, help us to rethink our connection to hegemonic, consumer-oriented diets. And even perhaps to help us understand the struggles for land autonomy and territory and how central they are in people's self determination. Nevertheless, the idea here is not to go back to precolonial diets. Many plants have multiple origins and single origin plants have long migrated and made theirselves at home in diverse parts of the planet. The idea is to realize to which beings, species, and circumstances we owe our lives. That there exist a plurality of planetary eating practices that we can pay attention to in order to rethink our ways living.
Changing eating habits require changes to our food environments, our political structures, as much as our systems of thought. It requires to think in parallel of the socioeconomic and cultural structures and conditions that influence people’s habits, choices, and health knowledges. It means proposing measures that reduce some of the barriers that stand in the way of making changes that are favorable to the common good. Measures that promote opportunities to address the food dilemma both at a personal and collective level – for example through community solutions such as soup kitchens.
Eating balanced is not just about incorporating the right combination of vitamins, minerals, proteins and fats in our foods. It also means balancing our needs with our impact on the planet. Research shows that eliminating foods, or even reducing meat and dairy, is one of the best ways to reduce our impact on the planet.
Plant-centered. Switching to plant based nutrition is one of the things that research shows has a strong favorable impact. Centering plants would allow us to establish steadier relationships of dependance and gratitude with local plants beings. A closer relationship to plants would make us want to treat them with dignity. It would make us clearly aware of the beings, insects and microorganisms on which they depend, making evident the redundancy of pesticides. The plants themselves would show us which thrive better in which season indicating what is what we should be eating the most. Paying attention to the ancient eating practices of the ecosytems we inhabit, would highlight the role of mushrooms, pulses, and vegetables here in Europe. It would clearly underline them as having one of the lowest impacts on the planet, as well as being powerful sources of nutrition and proteins.
In summary:
🌱 Demand political and social structures that assure that food that is free of harmful pesticides, that is sourced locally, and that is conducive to less greenhouse gas emissions, is available to all. Food systems and eating practices for a good-life for all.
Hegemonic diets. The ‘Western’ diet is made up of a mix meat products, processed foods, refined sugars, saturated fats and carbohydrates. A diet that ideologically is based on the idea of exploring the senses and everything that can produce a new experience about the flavours of other worlds. [1] The desire to have access to special foods and the possibility to properly ship them is an ancient practice. But the colonial project added exploitative structures that went on to exponentially impact the lives of an array species and the planet —as Haraway and Tsing reflect when talking about the Plantationocene [2]. Against this history, the satisfaction of the desire for the tastes of other worlds has increasingly become an adventure of the self. A consumption of an experience that in parallel feeds one's cultural capital. The capitalocene era ultimately developed food systems and practices that leave an enormous ecological footprint [3].
Damage to the environment. The current hegemonic food systems are taking a significant toll on the environment. These systems, including the production, processing and transport of all our food, are responsible for between 20% and 35% of greenhouse gas emissions, meaning our food system is a key driver of climate change and all its knock-on consequences. Research shows that food production of meat and animal products, for example, is one of the most impactful, and therefore its steady reduction would make a positive significant impact.
Excessive food waste is another factor contributing to the climate crisis. About 6% to 8% of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced if we stopped wasting food. That’s because of the wasted emissions used to produce and transport the food that then doesn’t get used — as well as the emissions produced by rotting food sent to landfill. Buying more food that we can consume, and not getting to consume it before it spoils, is one of many reasons that contributes to food waste. It is important we learn how to store food better and discover ways to use old food to create new meals. This would help ensure to stretch already available food, making it more abundant, and contributing to mitigating the food shortage crisis and prepare us for the uncertainty of future food supply.
Our future food supply is uncertain. Notably, food production is a key driver of climate change and biodiversity losses. Both issues could, in turn, threaten our future food security, a measure of the availability of food and individuals' ability to access it. More so when the biodiversity that is crucial for our food and agriculture is expected to continue to face growing losses.
A steady change of our path towards climate disaster requires structural measures, but this doesn't mean that there is nothing that people can do to have an impact on climate conditions. There are many measures we can take and ways in which we can contribute positively. These measures are fairly well known (organic, less processed, local, less waste) and yet people are not necessarily willing to give up their usual food consumption patterns. Their reasons are plenty and understandable.
On the one hand, food is cultural and affective. But also, social change is not easy. If people struggle with low income, a chronic disease or trying to prevent one, require social assistance, don’t have adequate cooking facilities or anyone to share a meal with, then eating well and consciously can often seem or feel out of reach.
But along with the many difficulties people face when trying to eat properly, there is also the question of what people imagine to be eating well and eating for a good life. An imagination that is also supported in schools with the teaching of government food pyramids, for example. An imagination in which economic abundance and adequate nutrition are equated with the necessary consumption of meat to acquire proteins. Millions of studies and documentaries detail why meat is not only unnecessary but harmful. And yet the transmitted memory of the oppressor eating meat and the anguish of not being able to access it are stronger. As taught in school, our mothers wrongly grew up with the idea that meat is 50% of the plate, and 50% of what our bodies need. And that affective memory remains engraved in the majority of society.
How to break that affective memory? Perhaps by purposefully creating new affective memories. By telling new stories. And by questioning the notion of food as a series of products and ingredients. And in this way, making space to reveal the historical relationships of peoples with local ecosystems and beings, entities and phenomena on which we depend to live.
We live in relationships of interdependence. The very act of eating implies engulfing the bodies and matter of other beings, and in that sense, it is a reminder that we need others to survive. But it also reminds us that the production of fruits and vegetables is an indispensable labor contribution of the plant people to our existence. This perspective, can help us to think of the social life and contribution of non-human beings and with it, of our interdependence to survive.
We are what we eat and we bear the DNA markings of the plants that our ancestors historically consumed the most. So that when different indigenous peoples of the Americas call themselves the children of maize, and call the maize plant "mother maize", this is something very literal, because they were kept alive and were raised by the maize plant.
Learning about these ancient relationships and knowledges, as well as the origins of what we have come to call food can help us recontextualize how we understand our current eating patterns. As well as, help us to rethink our connection to hegemonic, consumer-oriented diets. And even perhaps to help us understand the struggles for land autonomy and territory and how central they are in people's self determination. Nevertheless, the idea here is not to go back to precolonial diets. Many plants have multiple origins and single origin plants have long migrated and made theirselves at home in diverse parts of the planet. The idea is to realize to which beings, species, and circumstances we owe our lives. That there exist a plurality of planetary eating practices that we can pay attention to in order to rethink our ways living.
Changing eating habits require changes to our food environments, our political structures, as much as our systems of thought. It requires to think in parallel of the socioeconomic and cultural structures and conditions that influence people’s habits, choices, and health knowledges. It means proposing measures that reduce some of the barriers that stand in the way of making changes that are favorable to the common good. Measures that promote opportunities to address the food dilemma both at a personal and collective level – for example through community solutions such as soup kitchens.
Eating balanced is not just about incorporating the right combination of vitamins, minerals, proteins and fats in our foods. It also means balancing our needs with our impact on the planet. Research shows that eliminating foods, or even reducing meat and dairy, is one of the best ways to reduce our impact on the planet.
Plant-centered. Switching to plant based nutrition is one of the things that research shows has a strong favorable impact. Centering plants would allow us to establish steadier relationships of dependance and gratitude with local plants beings. A closer relationship to plants would make us want to treat them with dignity. It would make us clearly aware of the beings, insects and microorganisms on which they depend, making evident the redundancy of pesticides. The plants themselves would show us which thrive better in which season indicating what is what we should be eating the most. Paying attention to the ancient eating practices of the ecosytems we inhabit, would highlight the role of mushrooms, pulses, and vegetables here in Europe. It would clearly underline them as having one of the lowest impacts on the planet, as well as being powerful sources of nutrition and proteins.
In summary:
🌱 Demand political and social structures that assure that food that is free of harmful pesticides, that is sourced locally, and that is conducive to less greenhouse gas emissions, is available to all. Food systems and eating practices for a good-life for all.
🌱 Reduce consumption of animal products.
🌱 Consume food that is free from pesticides.
🌱 Consume food that requires less transport wherever possible to reduce food mileage.
🌱 Avoid excessive food waste and spoilage.
🌱 Make natural, whole foods, or minimally processed foods the basis of your diet.
🌱 Center eating around pulses, mushrooms, whole grains, nuts, vegetables, and fruits.
🌱 Use oils, fats, salt, and sugar in small amounts when seasoning and cooking.
🌱 Eat regularly and whenever possible, in company.
🌱 Develop, exercise and share cooking skills.
🌱 Plan your time to make food and eating important in your life.
🌱 Acknowledge the work of life-reproduction of plants.
References:
[1] Clemente-Suárez, Vicente Javier. "Global Impacts of Western Diet and Its Effects on Metabolism and Health: A Narrative Review." 2023. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10302286/
[2] Mittman, Greg. "Reflections on the Plantationocene: A Conversation with Donna Haraway and Anna Tsing." 2019. https://edgeeffects.net/haraway-tsing-plantationocene/
[3] Moore, Jason. "Cheap Food and Bad Climate: From Surplus Value to Negative Value in the Capitalist World-Ecology". 2015. https://jasonwmoore.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Moore-Cheap-Food-and-Bad-Climate-2015-CHS.pdf
References:
[1] Clemente-Suárez, Vicente Javier. "Global Impacts of Western Diet and Its Effects on Metabolism and Health: A Narrative Review." 2023. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10302286/
[2] Mittman, Greg. "Reflections on the Plantationocene: A Conversation with Donna Haraway and Anna Tsing." 2019. https://edgeeffects.net/haraway-tsing-plantationocene/
[3] Moore, Jason. "Cheap Food and Bad Climate: From Surplus Value to Negative Value in the Capitalist World-Ecology". 2015. https://jasonwmoore.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Moore-Cheap-Food-and-Bad-Climate-2015-CHS.pdf