There have been a number of books written recently on the subject of food: The Herbivore’s Dilemma, In Defense of Food and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle among them.  I have read none of these books.  I have, however, been doing some thinking of my own on the matter and I’ve come to a few realizations, some of them uncomfortably reflective of our societies’ views on the subject. 

First, I realize I take food completely for granted.  Secondly, I conceive of food largely as a finished product—an object that shows up complete and ready for consumption on my plate or in my local grocery store—without any regard to what went into getting it to that point.

I looked at my bank statement recently and realized I spend quite a bit of money on purchasing food each day, usually in the pre-made variety.  This sort of thing gets expensive.  It also contributes to the subconscious attitude that food just appears on shelves ready to be bought and consumed.  To combat this I have recently been making myself take the time to prepare my own meals for lunch and dinner.  At the beginning of each week I purchase the base ingredients for things like salads, sandwiches, simple pasta, chicken and vegetable dishes that I can use throughout the week.  This way I am forced to appreciate the process that goes into creating a meal, and thus value the final outcome more than I have in the past. 

Many of us in this country are extremely lucky to have an almost unlimited access to food.  We buy it in big plastic wrappers, we heat it up, we eat what we want and we throw away the rest.  I want to change the almost unconscious way in which I consume food.  By making myself take the time and effort to prepare my own meals I hope to gain a greater appreciation for what it is that sustains us on a daily basis and what it is to truly value this process.

As an object that we seek out and consume on a daily basis and in fact several times each day, it is obviously a subject relevant and crucial to all of us, yet one we often do not consciously address beyond “I’m hungry, I want food.”  This prevailing attitude is a shame in that it limits our focus and restricts our ability to look with intention at what we are consuming and its larger impact on our lives and the environment.  So this week at least, let’s all try to make an effort to realize how extremely fortunate we are to have such wonderful food at our fingertips and too appreciate how valuable this is.