Should food be a topic that requires us to take up and defend a political or ethical position?
Emma Sharp’s concept of conscious consumerism explains our need to take up a political and ethical position around food accessibility. How can we reinforce food sovereignty for communities, rather than for corporations who merely exploit the food market to maximise profits?
Sharp exposed our blindness to the careful presentation of our food’s value and our lack of control over our diet. New Zealand’s wealthiest are influenced by clever marketing trends, such as “organic eating,” while our lowest socio-economic classes are held in poverty by pricing schemes
Sugar for example, once a luxury item, now burdens the health of poor communities. Maria Madill explained how sugary foods are cheaper to produce, therefore much more accessible for those on a meagre budget. In our hierarchy of needs, a full stomach trumps nutrition. Meanwhile, fresh produce is wasted because it is more economically viable for growers, shippers and retailers not to waste shipping money or shelf space on food that is unlikely to sell. We can see here how capitalism’s exploitation of the upper classes’ food standards directly impacts vulnerable societies.
Food culture’s shift from necessity (consuming to live) to commodity (living to consume) is why Sharp says in (Re)assembling foodscapes with the Crowd Grown Feast that we must “depoliticise our consumption,” restoring collective power in our communities.
How do we do this? More importantly, how can this help bridge the broad gap between New Zealand’s richest and poorest?
Very cool stuff Banton. I agree that the capitalist system is not ideal for a sustainable and fair food system. However it does seem that while we can make movements towards a more equity based food system, we will never be able to separate it from capitalism. Because Capitalism is so entrenched in our food industry I wonder if we could think of any ways that we can improve the relationship between business and it’s consumers. Does a relationship even exist in a capitalistic system that benefits both the lower and higher classes. I believe that food should require us to take up those positions. But working out how to best create equity in the food system that is already present is just as important.
I agree, it’s hard to imagine a system where a relationship does even exist between producers and consumers. Maybe what’s most important (although least realistic) is a system which eliminates the middle man, who siphons off producers’ profit. It would only really work if we stuck to buying local produce, but that leaves our most vulnerable food producers overseas redundant.