Are We Seeing Food the Way We Should?

In Wendell Berry's "The Pleasures of Eating," he outlines a list of ways to eat more responsibility. Essentially, that list includes producing your own food, cooking your own food, learning where your food comes from and shopping locally, buying directly from farmers, learning about industrial food production, learning the best ways to farm, and learning about the life histories of food. I agree completely with all of these points except the last one; I don't really see the importance of knowing an organism's life history. I think it is definitely necessary for more people to be aware of their food, where it comes from, and what is actually in it, so that we can create a more sustainable society. Too many people are completely clueless to where their food comes from or if they are even paying too much for it. I feel bad saying it, but I am one of those people too. When I shop at the grocery store, I buy my food and leave as fast as I can, giving no thought to what I'm getting or why. I also never attempt to grow my own food, but it is something that I have really wanted to implement in my life.

In Food Justice by Gottlieb and Joshi, the injustices of food availability is described. When you compare this with Berry's work, you see that he has definitely made the assumption that people do not face food injustice. He makes it sound as if it is the consumer's fault that there aren't fresh fruits and vegetables available to them and that it is because of their unwillingness to shop locally that our earth is being so mistreated. But, both of these writings make the argument that fresh and local food should always be available and the first choice for consumers.

What Does Food Mean to Asheville, North Carolina?

When I think of Asheville, North Carolina, I think of acceptance and community. When I think of the food I find here, I have the same feelings. Everywhere you turn, there is a cuisine from a different culture that you probably would not experience in any other town in this area. The individuals here are focused on the health and quality of not only their own lives, but for the earth's as well. Every restaurant has vegan or meat reducing options along with sustainable packaging. The entire area has an atmosphere of encouraging conscientiousness in regard to human's footprint on the earth. To better represent what food means in Asheville, I have attached a photo I took at the farm to table dinner I recently attended on UNCA's campus. All of the food served to us was grown and cooked locally, by people who cared about the people eating it and the preservation of their environment. The tables were set up on the quad, the area decorated with plants and stacks of hay, live music played on a stage in front of us, and everyone in attendance seated together getting to know each other. We were a group of people from all over Asheville, brought together by our love for our town and our earth, focused on helping the planet and each other, which is exactly how I would describe the beautiful town of Asheville, North Carolina. Although I have not lived here long, I can honestly say I feel like I'm home now.

Service Learning

As of yet, the only hours I have been able to complete for my service learning requirement are the hours for two of the orientation classes. One was the service learning class orientation, the other was the SEC garden orientation, where we learned about on campus gardens and what we could do for them. Although I have not been able to engage in any service work, I am very excited to begin. For my entire life, I have been involved with volunteer work of all different kinds, from working in a hospital to logging records at my local museum; but, I have never participated in service learning. Service learning is a different category all together, it implies working with a community of people to better the area as a whole, as opposed to working for people like volunteering. When you volunteer and work for people, it enables oppressive mindsets to continue, and it also does not help the people you are working for learn how to help themselves rather than depend on others. With service learning and working with people, you build community and progress the entire area. Also, after your service is over, those you have been working with are better equipped to help themselves.

I already have a few things set up in the coming weeks to get my service hours, such as the farm to table dinner this week on campus, the Green Fest service day, and I plan to work in my assigned SEC garden. The dinner and service day were fairly easy things to set up and plan for, all I had to do was either sign up on a form or buy a ticket. For my shift at the SEC garden, I have had a little more trouble. When I first got my assignment of the ROOTS Garden, I had no idea where it was, since it was off campus. I have tried to go to it a few times with no luck whatsoever. Just the other day, I finally found it and am very excited to begin working there.

I know a lot of people consider service learning classes a chore and an extra work load, and I admit that I think that too sometimes, but I honestly love working for other people and I am happy that I took this class, even if it was an accident.