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Sunday, March 23, 2014

Talking with a mouth full...




Sorry Mr./Ms Hardin. Have had this for years and don't know where I found it or would credit you and the publication.

It's at least impolite to talk with your mouth full. It can also be unappetizing to others, messy and a general display of being quite less than polished. Not to mention that the point of your comment is often lost or dismissed. Online, people can do the equivalent by posting in an uncivil, opinionated, closed-minded, dismissive, attacking way. And sadly, this type of interchange occurred in a conversation intended to explore, and hopefully think creatively about,  important issues around our food system.

Having registered for an online course about our food system and health, taught by nationally recognized university faculty I was looking forward to lots of information, tough questions, diverse perspectives and meaty conversation. In week three of a six-week course, the faculty was required to post:

SPECIAL NOTE: there are some issues with civility on the forums and we want to remind students to follow these rules, which are posted on the syllabus:
--Respect the viewpoints of others, including your peers, the faculty and guest speakers. As a wise kindergarten teacher once said, “Don’t yuck someone else’s yum”. Food is very personal and we ask that you respect and appreciate cultural, religious and personal differences. We look forward to learning about your experiences with food, your communities and your interactions with the food system.
--Respect these rules. Students who do not respect the forum rules will be asked to un-enroll from the course.


Sigh.

We don't have the luxury of letting food system problems - shortages, limited access, nutritional quality, choice, concentration of producers, methods of production and more - go unquestioned and potentially successfully addressed. Questioning is a step toward understanding and without understanding, solutions can be short-lived at best and answer the wrong question at the worst.

Being sure that our experience and knowledge is right is dangerous but easy. It's what has been true for us. But there are many truths to experiences and knowledge is always progressing. And with the progression of knowledge comes the inevitable change - letting loose of what we "knew" to embrace and work with what we have "learned."

Skepticism is appropriate so that learning is fact-based and free of shaping by vested interests. The progression of knowledge is a messy and potentially fraught process by its nature. Making it worse by metaphorically talking with a full mouth makes it even more difficult.



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