Everyone is collecting food to donate to the poor at this time of year. The postman left a plea for food donations in the mail, our bank has provided bags to be filled and even displays sample bags full of non-perishable food in the lobby. Schools, churches, libraries and service clubs all tap into our willingness to help the less fortunate have food at Thanksgiving time. Unfortunately, the New Haven Register reports that over 6,000 turkeys are still needed to meet the Connecticut Food Bank's goal of 17,000 this season.
Thanksgiving is, at its root, a celebration of the Native American's generosity to the Europeans who invaded nearly three centuries ago. I suspect that this generosity came from the abundance the Native Americans created and lived with in this region. By then, native peoples had lived in what's now called New England for thousands of years and had managed their ecosystems to produce the great diversity and plenty upon which they depended. Historian William Cronon, in his book, Changes in the Land, makes it clear that early English visitors were in awe of the bounty of fish, wildlife and other good things to eat that they found in the New World. Turkeys, deer, elk, shad, alewives, sturgeon, salmon, trout, cod, flounder, raspberries, cranberries, blueberries, currents, chestnut and hickory trees abounded. Native gardens and farms produced corn, beans and squash - "The Three Sisters" - to provide easily-stored, balanced meals. The bounty was all around.
Oddly enough, there are similarities to our current situation: It's hard not to perceive food as bountiful in this country. Supermarkets get bigger and bigger, fast-food restaurants, convenience stores and food courts multiply like rabbits. Offers of "Buy one, get two free" and "Supersized meals" are common. We can be generous because times are good and food prices are extraordinarily low in this country. However the increasing demand for donated food this time of year tells us that something isn't right with the food system.
Over a decade ago, in one of its yearbooks, the USDA warned that in the long run, food distribution rather than production was more likely to be a problem. Their prediction has proven true. Food is now produced even farther from where it will be eaten, it is more highly processed and packaged, and there is increasingly concentrated corporate control of the food chain. The distribution sector takes about 80 cents out of every dollar we spend on food. And yet it still requires the volunteer work of businesses, groups and individuals to get food to those who desperately need it.
Of course, this is good for the powerful distribution sector, the corporations behind the food labels. They control the flow of food to those with money to buy it, while they push to decrease the prices they pay to farmers.
Although our donations are important this time of year, it is even more important to work to change our food system so that everyone has regular access to food through non-emergency channels and the distribution sector takes fewer of our food dollars. Certainly, home and community gardens, small farms, farmers markets and Community Supported Agriculture projects are essential for our success.
Happy Thanksgiving.
This is Bill Duesing, Living on the Earth
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