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Kerry's avatar

I think it is so much more complicated than any of us realize! I own a small health food store, and feel that I can address a different mindset, that of ignorance. So many people do not know how to cook, no idea how to use scraps or leftovers, how to make more meals with bones or other traditional methods that increase the nutritional value of the food. The people who cannot cook are not bad people, they simply weren’t raised to value the work of creating good food for yourself. If someone works to grow or raise food, another works to harvest/process the food, another works to distribute the food, another makes these raw ingredients available for you to choose from for cooking (but you don’t know how to cook), where in the “right to food” concept do the producers get honored? I am NOT talking about packaged food producers here, just raw ingredients from produce to eggs, dairy to meat, herbs and spices… how do we honor the work of so many others involved in bringing food to you without a monetary system? Because someone doesn’t know how to cook, or doesn’t have time to cook, someone else will then need to create something edible for them. How many people have contributed to creating food for others to eat? I know the system needs to change, just from a sustainability and access point of view, and that you are not necessarily referring to impoverished or wealthy people in particular as end users. I think it is a combination of individual ignorance or lack of valuing the creators of food, combined with corporate influence and greed that makes this concept impractical at this point in time. Even in the days of old that are referred to in the article, where people shared food and collaborated on meals, the hunters, farmers, gatherers and cooks were honored, and everyone contributed in some fashion to sustain the community. Did capable people unwilling to work within this community get fed at the table, or were they excluded and left to help themselves or rely on charity because they refused to contribute to the needs of the group? Ask yourself, “Am I contributing to the needs of group of people supporting my lifestyle?” Do you bring a gift for the host/hostess when you eat at someone else’s table? This tradition is also being lost because we are not teaching our children about honoring the cook. Is a doctor’s time worth more than the group of people who bring food to your table? No, I don’t think so. In many cases, the doctor could be avoided if we valued the nourishment of our bodies from the outset. When society as a whole can come to value the farmer/rancher/hunter/fisherman/bee keeper and our source of sustenance, Mother Earth, then things will change. In the meantime, put your money where your mouth is, support the genuinely earth friendly food producers, learn how to cook, take time to cook, share your table with others, and support a local soup kitchen or free pantry in your area. Volunteer! My rant. Thanks for listening.

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Susan Meeker-Lowry's avatar

I want to add that water is currently listed on the commodity market. So potable water is considered a commodity. The CEO of Nestle, a few years ago, declared that he did not believe clean water was a basic right. Rather that people should expect to pay for it. Bulk water extraction is threatening the water of countless small communities in the US and elsewhere. I know. I’ve fought Nestle Waters (now sold to Blue Triton, a global water conglomerate) in my home town of Fryeburg, Maine.

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