By: Lily Beaulne
Part I: Food Fuels Care
The resources that allow our bodies to function contribute to our ability to care. When you complimented that stranger, watered that plant, or volunteered at that event, none of it would have been possible if those involved were not sustained by food.
When we are partying, mourning, sick, or just in a caring mood, food is there; Whether to comfort or to celebrate, food has its place. We use food as a vessel for care. As we read in week 2, The Care Manifesto highlights that in order to cultivate caring environments, we must make sure that individual basic needs are met- accepting a more positive view of interdependence (Chatzidakis et al., 2020). Increasing food security promotes a more caring future on local and more global levels- having immediate and more gradual effects. From giving a child the energy to learn and care about a lesson, to allowing groups of activists to come together and discuss an issue at hand. Throughout human history, the issue of food insecurity has endured. In recent years the levels of severe food insecurity have reached new global highs (“Global Network”, 2022). As having enough food is linked to an increase in care, a deficiency of food may decrease care, or change the acts of care completed. Food Insecurity (especially in childhood) causes a higher risk for crime and antisocial behavior (Schuck and Widom, 2021). These actions do not fit into the positive, socially aware model of care we created in class with the first discussion of what we thought care should be in week 1. Now this is not to say that those who face food insecurity are violent, or uncaring people. We must acknowledge that the individuals who face this are predominantly from disadvantaged communities, where the resources and time to care are already lessened because of their social status. If individuals facing food insecurity were able to adequately fulfil this need, they would be able provide more care in other aspects of their lives. Once again, this is not to claim that those affected cannot care for multiple things or are solely focused on themselves, many will ignore their personal health as they are not privileged with the ability to ensure their wellbeing. If you cannot sufficiently provide for yourself and/or your family, how are you supposed to find the time and means to provide even more care outside of an already stressful situation. Particularly, when contributing additional material and monetary items. Food is a necessary resource every human requires, with enough food the conditions to have a caring attitude become more accessible (Chatzidakis et al., 2020). I encourage you to not only think about how food fuels your body but also how it fuels your and others' ability to interact with care. The next time you give someone food, know you are not just being caring, but are creating a small chain of care.
The next time you give someone food, know you are not just being caring, but are creating a small chain of care.
You may feel like your efforts to help this issue may not make any sort of impact, as some have brought up in class; specifically, when we had our guest speaker, the question of why we should care or even bother was raised. Even just a small can of peas donated to a food drive can make a difference. The more we all contribute to care with and about food, whether it's making a meal or donating to a food bank, the more we all can benefit from its extended benefits. People can direct care outside of the need for food, providing care in areas they may have been forced to neglect. Food not only is care, but fuels care.
Part II: Feeding members of Community Economies
Capitalism, a political and economic system, and its profit driven privatization of resources and supports has continued to create inequalities for many years- even in liberal Canada. Food and its related industries are a large part of these economies on local and larger scales. Food has gotten more expensive, and more processed for ease of production. To create a more accessible and healthier food market for everyone it may be helpful to look towards community economies. We focused on community economy in week 6 when discussing the infrastructures of care. Community economy is the “process of negotiating our interdependence,” while recognizing the “diverse ways... we collectively make our livings, receive our livings from others, and provide for others” (Community Economies, n.d). There is a wide range of ways in which we can obtain food, especially from sources within our local communities. Highlighting these already successful economic practices is a goal of the community economy (Community Economies, n.d). The practices we already put to use were highlighted in the building diverse community economies activity we participated in during week 6. There are 6 ethical coordinates that community economies may be and are being built around (Survival, Surplus, Transactions, Consumption, Commons, and Investment), in this activity we thought of specific resources and practices that fall under each one (Community Economies, n.d). Here we will consider how food applies to each. Undoubtedly food falls under survival as we need it to sustain our lives, but under this we may also consider how food is first acquired. Across various geographies and cultures these methods vary, farming, gardening, and scavenging are just a few to name. When we have a Surplus of food we could save it for future use, like meal prepping or batch cooking. We could also donate it, distributing the extra. As for Transactions there are many that could take place concerning food. The most obvious is the monetary purchase of food, whether from a store or another person. We often forget about the smaller transactions that may not have a record, like gifting, trading, bartering, borrowing, or completing a favour where food is involved. Consumption asks if we really needed the thing we are referencing (Community Economies, n.d). When it comes to food it could be argued that it is always needed, even if it's unhealthy it may be the only thing available to a person. There may be overindulgences or overspending but for the most part food is always necessary. Commons asks what we can share with others. We obviously can share food and the meals we make, but we can also share the immaterial related to food. Recipes, knowledge on different nutrition and health information, and hacks for storing food could be very useful. Finally, there is Investment. How do we ensure the wellbeing of future generations with the stored wealth we may have (Community Economies, n.d). This could be as simple as once again giving another person a meal but could also be on larger scales. Perhaps investing money, or food, in a community fridge or pantry. There is also the option of donating to foodbanks, volunteering there, or looking at national and international initiatives. Investing in others with food and in projects about food equity seems to be a good use of resources. There is a range of solutions and strategies when it comes to creating community economies where food is equitably available to its members, and some may work better in some communities than others. A community economy stresses the diversity of individual situations and how we can all come together to benefit each other. Think about the practices mentioned and how they may fit into the lives of yourself and those in your community. Could any of them be practically integrated into your life?
Think about the practices mentioned and how they may fit into the lives of yourself and those in your community. Could any of them be practically integrated into your life?
Part III: Multispecies and Caring Communities: Interdependence with Plants and Animals
Many of us take food for granted, we forget where it comes from, and what it once was. We overlook the effort put into growing, raising, harvesting, and producing the foods we eat and the ingredients we use. We disregard our interdependence not only with those who grow our food, but the food itself. The plants, the animals, and the many parts of the natural environment that make it possible are not seen as a part of our communities, they're merely seen as resources. Taking a multispecies approach while considering how we can fit these non-human biotic factors into a caring community may be a way to improve the environment while improving our quality of life through food and food security.
Taking a multispecies approach while considering how we can fit these non-human biotic factors into a caring community may be a way to improve the environment while improving our quality of life through food and food security.
We first started to discuss multispecies care in week 8, starting with reading Anna Tsing’s How to Love a Mushroom. She emphasizes how humans have built our communities, cities, etc., through the destruction and ignorance of the non-human communities that pre-existed ours (Tsing, 2010). By doing so we are disrupting our natural surroundings and forcing the plants and animals in them to adapt to a life disturbed and governed by human action. We have separated their communities, “coercing plants to grow without the assistance of other beings,” and demanding animals to change their ways of life (Tsing, 2010). Some may think we have created a caring community for humans (highly debatable), but it has been at the expense of non-human communities. The Care Manifesto that we read in week 2, poses the question of how we can create a caring community that betters our lives, makes us happier, and just lets us live (Chatzidakis et al., 2020). This manifesto, at least in this specific chapter, only refers to the human community, but how can care be enhanced by including our non-human friends. How can we embrace our interdependence with the natural environment to benefit all? Using some of the features from the manifesto we can consider ways to incorporate this neglected environment into our communities. The first feature mentioned, Mutual support, can be applied to plants and animals. It’s as simple as caring for them, making sure that they have the basic resources to not only survive but to flourish, and to respect their natural processes. Not only does this make food more abundant for us humans but it can increase the quality and the state of the environment around us. Specifically caring for plants and animals on a more personal and local level may make food more accessible and possibly cheaper if the focus is put on native/local species. The second feature of public space would also add value to a multispecies community. A public space accessible to everyone, humans and non-humans, would allow the environment to expand. This could include embracing green spaces, but not altering them to be more appealing or profitable to humans. Indoor spaces could also be utilized, keeping in mind the land they take up. Perhaps constructing around trees, those always seem to be cool builds. The last feature I'll consider is shared resources, this supports environmental sustainability (Chatzidakis et al., 2020). When we share what we have in surplus we can take less from our surrounding environment. We can also share with plants and animals; some may use things we discard for shelter, like a bird using string in its nest. We can’t necessarily share the immaterial with plants and animals, but we can show them kindness. In the same week we read this portion of The Care Manifesto, we participated in an activity where we created an on-campus initiative to make UofG a more caring community. The storyboard model we used could be applied to help start initiatives that promote multispecies care. On a broad scale these would support multispecies care and fostering communities where humans and non-humans can co-exist in a way that values their interdependence. Some of the challenges faced would be pre-existing structures in our societies, certain political agendas like capitalism, and the human fear of change. A strategy to take could be to start on small local levels, impacting small groups of individuals at a time to not overwhelm. Finally, the change we would hope for (concerning food) would be that through recognizing and embracing our interdependence with our food sources, we can move towards a community where food is equitably available for everyone while the environment around us continues to thrive.
Part IV: Food here, there, and everywhere
When I think of food in communities other than mine, I tend to think of differences in flavours and the food itself. I think of different cuisines and local ingredients, not about the people who eat them, or the troubles they may face. When it comes to food we tend to focus on care in our households and communities. It is easier to notice disparities and empathize with those who we consider to be a part of our group or community.
What can we do to address and aid in food security issues on larger scales to extend our sphere of care. Can we make an actual difference in other localities facing such a widespread issue?
What can we do to address and aid in food security issues on larger scales to extend our sphere of care. Can we make an actual difference in other localities facing such a widespread issue?
Week 10 of our seminar focused on caring for the world, making global connections and exploring how far we can care. Hawkins’ Breaking Down Barriers of Culture and Geography? Caring-at-a-Distance through web 2.0, examines how Join My Village (JMV) breaks barriers of geography and culture. This content offers relevant strategies to broaden our scope of care. People usually think of unfamiliar cultures as distant and as others, whether consciously or not, making caring outside of one's own culture sometimes difficult (Hawkins, 2018). Hawkin’s first introduces a strategy JMV uses to combat this challenge. Emphasizing similarities between different communities with cultural and location differences aims to broaden the category of ‘us’ (Hawkins, 2018). By increasing the number of people we consider to be like us or a part of our community, there is a greater chance of care reaching them in this shared identity. On an ideal level this would extend care throughout the human community and eventually the non-human community, creating a larger acknowledged community of living things. JMV’s next approach is analogous to the first, paying attention to the material and casual connections that faraway people have (Hawkins, 2018). Looking at not only the people, but the places they occupy and their environments. We can take the time to look at these categories to make connections to our food. Considering the ways others grow, buy, make, and dispose of food. Are their circumstances similar to ours or different, how do they vary? How do the people who experience food insecurity in our local community experience it differently or similarly to those in other communities? Can we take any solutions or models from other communities' and apply them to ours? Are there models in ours that we think could benefit a distant community? The last strategy encourages examining relational responsibility, reflecting on more systemic issues and how the places we come from, live in, and care for are connected (Hawkins, 2018). This is specifically pertinent when dealing with systems of oppressions, disadvantaged communities, and geographic locations that have been historically colonized or the site of conflict. Think about those whose land and ancestors have been colonized. How has their relationship with food changed because of it? How has the availability, quality and type of food been forcibly altered? We may think of reparations and how they may be paid, not only in a monetary form but in ways to foster food security. It is important to make sure that when recognizing these inequalities, we do not fall into the mindset of a savior. Helping those facing hardship due to something that we (the global north, colonizers, etc.) have caused, does not give one a higher moral status. Taking a holistic approach to spreading care outside of our immediate communities is essential to combating widespread issues like food insecurity- an issue experienced in many places in many ways. Finding both the similarities and differences in the ways food insecurity affects people in different locations and cultures allows for important comparisons. This can lead to more effective solutions for specific needs and the sharing of knowledge and resources. Food plays a large role in every culture, learning to explore its function and position from a lens of cultural relativity supports the interdependence of various communities.
References
Chatzidakis, A., Hakim, J., Litter, J., & Rottenberg, C. (2020). Chapter 1: Caring Politics. The care manifesto: The politics of interdependence (pp.21-31 ). Verso Books
Community Economies. (n.d.). Community Economies Research and Practice., https://www.communityeconomies.org/abtheout/community-economies-research-and-practice
Global Network against Food Crises (GNAFC). fightfoodcrises.net. (2022). http://www.fightfoodcrises.net/
Hawkins, R. (2018). Breaking Down Barriers of Culture and Geography? Caring-at-a-Distance through Web 2.0. New Political Science, 40(4), 727-743. https://doi.org/10.1080/07393148.2018.1528534
Schuck, A. M., & Widom, C. S. (2021). The roles of housing, financial, and food insecurities in understanding the relationship between childhood neglect and violence in adulthood. PLOS ONE, 16(3). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0246682
Tsing, A. (2010). Arts of inclusion, or how to love a mushroom. Manoa, 22(2), 191-203.
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