A few minutes ago, I shared this video on facebook and above it wrote: "'It's up to us to seek out the information' There's no longer any excuse for people to be supporting factory farms -- if you eat meat, find out where it's coming from. If your response is "well, it makes me sick to watch those videos and read about it.." Then WHY (HOW?) are you EATING it???"
After posting this and re-reading it, I almost had to delete it. You see, I fully believe what I wrote and I definitely think it's important to raise awareness about factory farming. The problem, though, is that it's not as simple as it should be.
From my privileged (I'm using that word in acknowledgment of the statistical advantage that my physical characteristics and background give me) position as a white, middle class, college-educated, suburban- raised childless person, this is a simple, cut and dry issue. Animals are being treated unethically -- our agricultural system is harmful to the environment, animals, and humans ----> clearly, the answer is to stop supporting industrial ag. So I don't eat meat, I buy organic produce, cage free chicken eggs, and almond milk. And...that's what we should all be doing, right?
I wish I could say and promote this without reservation. But as soon as I re-read my comment, sirens went off in my head and a loud speaker said "Hey wait!!" How are the majority of Americans, already scraping by, sometimes on two or more jobs, supposed to stop supporting this system? How are citizens in communities that can be described as "food deserts" supposed to stop supporting this system? When factory farmed meat and eggs are significantly cheaper than ethically produced food, how in the world are people supposed to stop "supporting" this system?
The thing is, they're not "supporting" a system. The system is failing to support them, to support us.
Grocery shopping takes me forever. I'm on a tight budget and I know a lot about how things are produced. Putting something in my cart is basically a moral decision. Even with a paycheck that makes me feel comfortable most of the time and the position in society that I was fortunate enough to be born into, buying real food is sometimes straining. Now I think about adding kids, higher bills, insurance (maybe, if I'm lucky) and/or an economically disadvantaged identity -- there's no way I could actually change my purchases to reflect my wishes for a better food culture.
My heart is with the chickens, pigs, cows, and veggies that are being reaped of their souls -- or, as Joel Salatin would say, their essences -- but my heart is also with the families and individuals who cannot, even with full knowledge and understanding, afford to stop relying on this system that provides caloric intake and some semblance of nutrition. My facebook comment asked "WHY (HOW?) are you eating it??"...."because I have to," is likely the answer that many would respond with.
The trouble is that we live in a food culture that is entirely congruent with our economic priorities. Some people can choose and afford to eat like Michael Pollen wants them to; others, probably the majority, don't have that privilege. Widespread, healthy changes in food production and consumption will only come when we are ready, as a nation and as a world, to make systemic changes to our economic values. Profit cannot be the motivating factor when it comes to ensuring human well-being. The market will not care for those in need, it will not support the vulnerable -- the market needs guidance, and it needs a soul.
In the end, our food culture is not sustainable. It's not sustainable for animals and plants. It's definitely not sustainable for humans. And worst of all, it's not sustainable for Mother Earth as a whole. Our food culture is directly tied to our economic culture. We can't blame people and we can't rely only on them for change -- we have to evaluate our collective ideas of corporate autonomy, ownership, subsidization, and individualism. Industrial agriculture will "support" us until we stop allowing it to -- but this can only happen if we see it as one part of a complex system, deeply, deeply intertwined with economic disparity, racism, profit-driven motives, and a historical disavowal of stewardship.
