During this political moment, the question inevitably lurks: With matters of life and death at stake in so many arenas, is it not decadent, frivolous, and self-indulgent to talk about food culture?
In short, how can you think about food at a time like this?
Source: Defiant Success.
Thinking about food is not only justifiable but critical, I argue, for two reasons.
The first reason is straightforward: Because, as Wendell Berry put it so resonantly, eating is an agricultural act. And agriculture is tied to environmentalism, to movements for economic justice, and to demands for the rights of immigrants. There are valid criticisms to be made of how the mainstream US food movement prioritizes high-end consumer choices over structural reforms. But the connection is clear.
The second reason is a bit more subtle: Because protest and resistance are physical actions. It is the body that marches, that speaks out, that demands better. The body must be nourished. The body must be motivated. The body must be called into community. Food does this. Food rebuilds our spent strength, rekindles our outrage, revitalizes our sense of solidarity. Resistance is visceral.