Being Good Food Citizens

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By Cynthia Barstow

Eco-eating is no easy affair. It takes care and work to make informed decisions. Every day, there is something new to learn about our foods — how they are grown or raised, what the governmental policies are or are not, and how farming affects families all over the world.

The sad state of our food system can feel daunting; yet I believe that together we can visit the issues and celebrate our choices for change. Every day new projects emerge from creative people offering up potential solutions to food-related problems. Our job, as shoppers, is to encourage them and to buy the fruits of their labor.

Many of the issues lead to value judgments and difficult ethical choices. Do we feed the hungry by developing higher-yielding crops, even if it might harm the Earth? How can we make good, clean food available to all, not just those who can afford the higher cost? Do I have the "right" to purchase genetically modified (GM) foodstuffs for school lunches when I am responsible for other people's children? These are some of the questions being asked in conversations across the country, and ones we each need to ask ourselves.

Our individual decision-making power helps create our food system — each buying decision we make influences what is marketed to us. We need to act as "food citizens" by taking personal responsibility for shaping our food system. The Wisconsin Foodshed Research Project has defined a food citizen as follows: "Food citizens are eaters who take an interest in food beyond its affordability and availability. Food citizens are concerned about environmental sustainability, the health of farmers and consumers, issues of justice for farmworkers and the poor, and democratic participation in determining where our food system is heading." So if we decide to take on this responsibility, how do we start thinking on a personal level about the food ethics and values?