Pleasures of Eating and Food Justice

Wendell Berry raises some very good points about how we should interact with our food. Although I do not feel as strongly as him about his position in this article I do think that it’s important to take into account what he describes in his list. Lately I have not had the chance to participate in my own food production but when I was younger I had a garden in my backyard. I grew tomatoes, pole beans, and cucumbers and every day I would go out there and see if I had more vegetables that I could use to cook with. It feels good to be in control of my own food source which leads into the next point on the list which is preparing my own food. With how busy I am I don’t put much focus into this as I’m just concerned with getting food into my stomach in the most efficient means possible. Later down the road I would love to be able to control and be aware of the food I put into my body. Since moving to Asheville I have thought more about where my food comes from because almost anywhere I go to eat there are signs boasting that they use locally grown food. I think it’s awesome that Asheville is proud of this and I hope it continues. Most of the food I buy for my self is processed and definitely not from local producers. For a couple years now I have become more aware of the chemicals they put into my food and I try to minimize that as much as I can. My favorite snack bar is a Larabar which only contains about 3 to 6 natural ingredients without any additives. I know it’s important to understand the processes that farmers and gardeners use but at this current point in my life that not very high on my priority list. I would love to adopt all of these principles in the future. As for right now, I might not always make the best decisions about what I eat, but I feel that I keep everything I do in moderation which is key to maintaining balance in all of my chaos.

Already at the beginning of the reading I can see that Wendell Berry takes for granted that he has access to local farmers and fresh food. Many people living in the inner-cities don’t have the luxury of getting such food. Berry assumes that everyone has equal affordable access to healthier alternatives. Both of the writing want the readers to understand the importance of a healthier, natural diet. The first explains why to do it and the second points out how to do it by changing the common access of these foods. Looking back to when I lived in Detroit I can’t remember ever seeing anything that said locally grown food. I understand what Food Justice means about the high concentration of fast food joints and the shortage of healthy grocery stores. There is definitely an unbalance of food distribution that needs to be addressed on a national and then global scale. Maybe if some of the land where foreclosed and neglected homes stand in ruin we could find a way of recycling the land to make community gardens that people could share with one another.

Asheville Food

Hello again! So just the other night I went to The Mellow Mushroom in downtown Asheville and had the most amazing pizza. For anyone who has already had the experience you'll know the pizza as the Funky Q. This was a barbecue style chicken pizza and it was one of the best I've ever had. All of the flavors seemed to be enhanced and even the crust was worth waiting for. The base of the pizza was this honey wheat or whole grain dough that was so soft on the inside and had just enough thickness on the outside.

Aside from the pizza the atmosphere is all Asheville. From the multicolored human statue at the entrance to the random bowling balls placed in the masonry along the perimeter, it all says Asheville to me. Ever since I've moved to Asheville I've felt that there's never been a consistent theme. Everyone is free to express themselves however they like. Coming out of the military where everything is cookie cut to keep everyone in line, it's definitely a breath of fresh air to be around people that don't hold back. I really appreciate the open-mindedness of Asheville. It's really helped with my transition into civilian life. The Mellow Mushroom and the Funky Q pizza show me all of the aspects of Asheville in one place. I don't drink much now but I'm pretty sure I overheard that they have over 100 choices of beer! But I don't think you should take my word on it, go see for yourself what Asheville is all about at The Mellow Mushroom.

Service Learning at The Lord's Acre

Hi everyone! It’s been a while since my last post and it feels good to be back. Today I’m going to tell you about my first service-learning experience that took place at The Lord’s Acre. The Lord’s Acre is a volunteer run farm with an amazing variety of produce. Everything that is grown there is cared for and donated to different organizations in and around Asheville, NC. During my time there I had several different opportunities to assist in the preparation of the food. First my friend Wayne and I washed lettuce and kale by dunking them in buckets of cold water. Being that it was in the low 50’s maybe even 40’s that morning with no sun out yet made for slightly less feeling in our fingers. It was a nice change of pace when we left the shaded area and got to harvest okra straight from the crop. It was awesome to see how okra grows because I never even really thought about it before. Being a part of such an amazing place allowed me to understand how important it is to be involved with the local community. Without the dedicated people that give up their own time to make The Lord’s Acre function many people who are less fortunate wouldn’t have the ability to have fresh fruits and vegetables for their families. For myself this was the first time I had worked on a farm this size. Growing up I had a small garden in my backyard which could easily be managed by one individual. The Lord’s Acre has so much to offer that I didn’t realize the huge amount of manual labor required to ensure the upkeep of the produce. Experiencing all of this has helped me see the bigger picture of why we are given the chance to go out and interact with the community. It takes people from all walks of life to make a difference where it needs to happen. I really feel like UNCA and Asheville as a whole have the interest of providing a better quality of life and morale for anyone that needs it. I’m really looking forward to my next trip at The Lord’s Acre and a few other opportunities to help out on and off campus. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful week!

Let's Eat Some Grits and a Hyphen or Two

Hey everyone! What is going on? This week is coming to an end but where one thing ends another begins. I’m talking about the weekend of course! Whoop whoop! Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves though. Friday is still a busy day for many of us. We have to make sure we’re caught up on all of our work before we let loose and throw the top back.

Today I’m coming to you with two different culture specific writings. The first is “Reclaiming True Grits” by Bryant Terry and to be completely honest I was really put off by how strong he came on. He talks about how fed up he is about soul food being held responsible for African Americans being obese, diabetic, as well as having heart disease. Now before reading the article I was really interested in what the article might say after reading his introduction. It says he wants to show people how to eat healthy even when they find it difficult to do so within the local community. If you read my last post then you can guess why this would interest me. Although I have access to healthy food it definitely is not convenient with my busy schedule but that’s not for this post discussion. I felt partially blamed for the stereotyped soul food even though I had nothing to do with it. To me it seemed that the only people who would agree with him is someone from his same viewpoint. I only felt attacked. He also talks about this problem beginning in the 1960’s due to the media’s portrayal of soul food. Myself being from Detroit and going to pre-game football parties with my African American friends I’ve had plenty of soul food. At least to me it was soul food. Someone from the south might not agree. I would never think to blame soul food for a group of people’s health problems. Everything in moderation!

The second piece I read was from Lily Wong called “Eating the Hyphen”. I think I was intentionally told to read this one second so I wouldn’t put down my book and feel berated. This essay was a complete 180 from the first. I found myself laughing out loud as I read along. If you’re like me then you’re probably wondering what’s it mean to ‘eat a hyphen?’ So I finally found out at the end of the essay that for Lily the hyphen represents her link between American and Chinese culture. That link just so happened to be a Chinese dumpling which she admittedly ate in very odd manner. She would separate the meat from the thick doughy skin with a knife and fork. Then only after dissection would she grab a pair of chop sticks and enjoy her meal, with ketchup. This had become almost ritualistic for her. She uses pathos to build an emotional link between herself and the reader. Bryant Terry used a form of pathos but I only felt alienated after reading it. These articles were both written to try to get the reader to understand the writers’ passions for their culture. They each took completely different approaches at trying to achieve that.