today i begin a year of eating, drinking, only consuming things that go into my body, package free. i thought this up last night as i was walking through the streets of portland, and wondering what will my next food challenge be. why, you may ask, do i need to push my food choices even more? the simple answer is, because i can.
i am one of those lucky people who has choices in how and what i consume. first, i live in a city that grows food pretty much year round. i work in a co-op that values the farmers, the food producers, and the workers that get food to our tables, AND carries soooo many bulk food options! i've been vegan for about 15 years now and have watched my food choices evolve and refine themselves, and this feels like the most logical next step. also i believe that if one has the opportunity to do things in a different, and potentially "better" way, then one has the responsibility to do it. and lets not forget, i am a privileged person in american that can afford to choose what i eat and i how i eat it!
but maybe the most significant reason for me to push my food choices comes from Thich Nhat Hahn in the book The World We Have; "A student asked me, 'There are so many urgent problems what should I do?' I said, 'Take one thing and do it very deeply and carefully, and you will be doing everything at the same time.'"
so i care about the state of our planet: the environment, war for oil, the farm labor movement, the child/human slavery for convenient chocolate treats, food coming from other countries where the farmers don't have enough food to eat but we get tomatoes and bananas all year round, and people starving from our neighborhoods to the other side of the world. i care about the health of the humans on this planet as they get more and more sick from the processed foods that poison instead of nourish our bodies. and i care deeply about the animals that are brutally mistreated, tortured, and killed and then packaged up in nice little ways so that people never have to look the animals in their eyes themselves.
what do i think i will accomplish by not buying foods in package form? i hope to come even more aware of where my food actually comes from, as well as just how much packaged food i usually eat/drink. i also hope to come into more actual contact with my food. many things i will have to make myself; like bread and un-milks, beer, wine, and cookies (those who know me well are most likely wondering what about los gorditos burritos!).
later i will post what my guidelines are, but today is a play day. i choose to start this day because it is my birthday, and that is usually when i do my "new year" things. if see me eating something from a package these next few days, its because i have some things to clear out (i really did just decide to do this last night), so be kind... or not! hold me accountable! call me out! fuck yeah! responsibility and accountability!
one last note, for now, i never thought i would start a blog, but here i am doing it. my goal is for this to be a place that i hold myself accountable, and can easily keep track of what my challenges are and what i find for solutions that make there way into my daily life even once this year is up. i don't really expect anyone to read this, but if others want to take up the challenge with me.... now that would be an appropriate use of the word "awesome"!
cheers,
k
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