I'm not vegetarian. It's much more complicated than that...

So Liz and I are trying to walk the talk and live a life to adequately complement our worldview: economic and social justice, fair and living wages, respecting people's worth as individuals and not cogs in a system. Seems like an easy enough task, but it certainly is not. To tell you the truth, the phrase "ignorance is bliss" is taking on new weight. Whether it's reading up on all the truth about Wal-Mart (here, here, here, and here by way of here) and hitting at the consumerism realm which is so often and easily disconnected from reality as we continue living blind to the reality behind our purchases.

For now, however, we're focusing on a much more basic, subsistence need = FOOD!

I'm still trying to figure out exactly how to describe my commitment toward a more sustainable and just food system. It's easy to start by simply being vegetarian, at least taking a stand against the meat industries and their horribly unsustainable practices (see Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser) or even more mainstream reports on the amount of grain protein that is fed to animals in order to produce a significantly lesser amount of protein from the meat end product. (i'll have to find that)

But for now I'll stick with something like this...we're focusing on using our individual and collective purchasing power on foods that are locally produced, chemical free, minimally processed, and organic (and not the watered down USDA definition, but really organic). This doesn't necessaritly exclude meat, though in practice it's hard to find meat that fits both the criteria and the budget.

There you go.

In doing some self educating, I've come across quite a few interesting and helpful places to learn more about this realm. One was the Syracuse Real Food Coop and their blog. We went to the store a little over a month ago for the first time and it was a real treat. More than the thoughtful food selections with background on the origin of all products (the farm it came from, farm owners, farm philosophy, etc.), it also embodies a sense of community often lost in our culture today. It fosters a real sense of comfort as, by nature, it gathers people who are aware of and care deeply about their place in the world...or at least in the food chain.

Another pleasant surprise came to me after one of my Google News alerts sent me to a post on this U.S. Food Policy blog. I was then able to connect to a great, local source called Cookin' in the 'Cuse. I particularly liked a recent post that spoke to much of our recent seasonal frustrations, the difficulty of eating local in Syracuse in the winter. It's really true that winter, particularly in climates that have a REAL and significant winter season, brings out the nuances of sticking with locally grown foods. There's only so many roots that one can handle in a short period of time. I sure have much to learn.

And while I'm on the subject, I'd be remiss to forget to include one of Francis Moore Lappe's recent book, Hope's Edge. It's quite an amazing book, with unforgettable stories of courage and hope of neighbors from around the world -- and to top it off, there are wonderful recipes throughout.

When you spend your professional life focusing on food justice, it's hard not to make it personal.