Reasonable Creatures

'There is value in any experience that reminds us of our dependency on the soil-plant-animal-man food chain, and of the fundamental organization of the biota... Civilization has so cluttered the elemental man-earth relationship with gadgets and middlemen that awareness of it is growing dim. We fancy that industry supports us, forgetting what supports industry,' (Leopold, A Sand County Almanac).

These days you might be convinced there exists no food chain at all besides the one from the freezer to the microwave to your stomach. But of course taking the time to look beyond the brief time of pseudo-production in the kitchen or the approach to the fast food counter, you will see that not only is the food chain changed in a very unnatural way, so is our cultural relationship to food. The dream of the melting pot has come to fruition and in place of cultural meaning, the food industry has injected a certain Oz-like eating environment where you don't ask whats behind the curtain. But, do we really want to know.

Certainly, if we push ourselves far enough we might rationalize or reason our way to eating the most processed and artificial foods possible. No muss, no fuss, and no questions about the food behind the curtain besides how quickly can I buy it and leave. What difference does the changed in food culture make really? It has certainly made finding food easier. But for all the progress of convenient eating, haven't we sacrificed something? My experience tells me yes. My experience tells me that if we resurrect our most heartening food cultures only at our most prized times of celebration, why not bring them to the table more often? Much like Leopold wrote, we fancy that food alone supports us, forgetting what supports our food: conversation, cultural design. Eating food is not a time to fill your stomach as quickly as possible but an opportunity to share something with others.

So, ask yourself if there exists a fast food culture? What makes leaving the care and comfort of home and company for the individualized serving sizes and squeaky clean table tops of the local burger joint so appealing? Consider how little you know about processed or fast food, and yet you are willing to ingest it. (Considering the protocol of perusing a clothing outlet and the thorough examination of a pair of jeans or sunglasses, we probably spend more time considering our fashion then what we eat.) We rush out to eat food that has no apparent connection to any recognizable food source and have no second thought about it. Or do we? Patrons of a McDonalds or Burger King probably are as satisfied as they care to be after eating. On the other hand though, most of those same patrons have no ability to judge the experience against anything else. I can remember moving through the line of my middle school and high school cafeteria with no reason to think of the other foods I would rather be eating or the other ways I would like to be eating them. The course is laid at our feets to follow: schools feeding thousands of kids everyday, and parents too tired or busy to prepare a meal. And so there emerges a need, a demand, for the gadgets and middlemen to come peddling there convenient merchandise that will make feeding our young people a corporate tradition (whats for breakfast? Kelloggs or Quaker?) rather than a cultural one.

We can reason ourselves into anything. Faced with someone criticizing our diets we will cast them aside with a great moral indignation and will feel righteous for it, but we will never reason ourselves into questioning our culture's obsession with immediate gratification. Next time you are faced with a hot-pocket or a hungry man dinner, reason what came before the packaging and chemical synthesis and reason whether you might not want an alternative. Do not rely on the reasons laid out before you by commercials or experts. Instead use what usually supports your reason: morals and care.