Observing World Food Day, every day

By Kati Garrison, Dominican Volunteer

What does food mean to you? To me, food is a means to transform a memory into something tangible. When the succulent scent of steamed mud crabs wafts past my nose, it activates recollections of the time I spent living with an Aboriginal community in the Australian Outback. I am reminded not so much of the actual taste of the crabs that I caught with my own two hands, but of the culture that I experienced and the sentiments this immersion evoked. The deep spirituality, robust relationships, and generosity of my host community left an indelible impression upon my life, and the smell of steamed crabs reignites the feelings from this moment in time. In this sense, what renders any given meal memorable is not the food itself, but the experience.

Accordingly, food functions as not only as fundamental bodily sustenance but also as a complex social medium that engenders community. People of all cultures foster and nourish relationships through the act of bonding over a shared meal. Take a moment to reflect upon the multitude of memories we enjoy in relation to food: turkey at Thanksgiving, cake at a wedding or a birthday, or the comfort food your mother used to prepare when you were sick. Although each of these reminiscences involves food, they also contain something of greater substance: relationships. The Thanksgiving turkey evokes thoughts of the gathering of extended family, and the comfort food reminds us of the people in our lives who care for us. Therefore, food serves as a seemingly simple commodity, and yet it remains innately essential to human coexistence.

Throughout the course of history, food has also played a significant role in bringing conflicting peoples together, thereby turning times of crisis into times of peace. For example, on Christmas Eve 1914, WWI soldiers from Britain, France, Germany, and Scotland, halted their fighting to gather, sing, and share a meal between the trenches of battle. For a brief time, peace existed amidst the violence. In addition, in 1901 President Theodore Roosevelt, recognizing the racial discord and tension within the United States, invited Booker T. Washington (a prominent leader and advocate in the African-American community) to dinner. During this period in history, dining with another individual symbolized social equality between the two parties, and as a result, historians view this shared meal as signifying a step toward recognizing the equality of the two races.

Furthermore, food (or the abstention from food) can prompt the restoration of right relationships. For instance, during the month of Ramadan, persons practicing Islam fast during the daylight hours. This practice of fasting encourages Muslims to reflect upon and examine themselves as well as their relationships—to make peace with individuals with whom they experienced conflict. Accordingly, they strive to cleanse their souls and simultaneously fortify connections amongst God, family, and community. As sunset approaches, everyone congregates to share a meal and celebrate the breaking of the fast.

My appreciation for the ability of food to develop and strengthen relationships, as well as generate positive change, alters the manner in which I prepare meals to share with others. If I throw something together without much thought, most likely the meal will merely serve as the sustenance required to suppress hunger until the next opportunity to dine. However, with a little more thought, a meal can become an experience that touches both the mind and the human soul.

At the same time, I am also cognizant of the fact that my food choices exhibit widespread implications for the well-being of humankind and the environment. It is a luxury to be able to choose what I eat, and I need to use this privilege wisely. On Oct. 16, the United Nations observed World Food Day, reminding us to remember not only how to make food choices to foster right relationships with one another, but with the natural world and all of its inhabitants.

As articulated by Emeritus Archbishop Desmond Tutu: “I love food. It’s part of my culture and heritage. The global system for producing and sharing food is broken. There are close to a billion hungry people worldwide. Imagine if food could talk. What would your rice tell you about where it came from? What would your coffee beans say about who grew them, and how would your potatoes describe their journey to your plate? We have to make sure the journey from plot to plate is fair and sustainable so that everyone always has enough to eat.”

This year, Oxfam is advocating five principles for feeding the planet that it terms the GROW method. It incorporates the following simple and easy means for individuals to help fight hunger and improve our global food system, starting with meals served at your own table:

1. Reduce food waste to conserve the precious resources and inputs of the food system
2. Purchase products and brands that guarantee fair and living wages for small-scale farmers and food producers
3. Cook smart to conserve energy
4. Buy foods that are local and in season to reduce the fossil fuel consumption required for long-distance transportation
5. Consume fewer animal products to diminish the use of water and the production of greenhouse gases

To explore these suggestions in further detail, please refer to Oxfam’s pocket guide on the GROW method.

Certainly, multitudes of additional actions exist to work towards achieving a more just and sustainable food system. For example, you can visit www.freerice.org where you can play on online game to earn donations of rice for the World Food Programme. A number of other notable suggestions can be found on the World Food Day USA web site.

Please observe World Food Day every day as an opportunity to promote a dialogue about where your food comes from, who cultivates it, its environmental impact, and how you personally can engage in actions toward achieving a more just and sustainable food system.

Margaret Mayce, OP (DLC/Amityville) NGO in Special Consultative Status at the United Nations Dominican Leadership Conference 211 East 43 St. Rm 704 New York, NY 10017 email: Margaret Mayce, OP