Continuing yesterday's conversation...

Ron's reply had a lot of "meat" to it and seemed to be quite a bit to "bite off" and address all at one sitting. (Ok, I'm done with the food references for now...)  I will take some time responding and will come back to it from time to time. To that end....

Ron noted his perception of the near calcification of the system since WWII. Bigger players, entrenched positions, lots of reliance on technologies that would seem to render real change unlikely as they could smack down annoyances. Yet, I'm not so sure. Lots of change is happening now because of technology and the speed with which a shared concern can be communicated and energy harnessed. Yet of course what looks like a quick action had lots of energy to go into it that wasn't visible too. Like the snow-bound pine branch that just sits and sits and sits with that mound of snow on it with nothing apparently happening, when the snow slides from the branches its likely from invisible melting that looks like a sudden change. 

Some examples:

• Today's New York Times had an editorial about the strides made against childhood obesity by Michele Obama's "Let's Move" initiative and her planting of a garden on the White House lawn. It took decades for obesity to become a problem (those years between WWII and say the late 80s or early 90s). As recently as 2008 more than two thirds of American adults and one third of children were obese. What numbers! And while others were attempting to address this through the traditional channels - doctors warning patients, Jenny Craig touting diets, parents approaching schools to feed their children better and making "healthier" choices like shopping at farmers markets -  the conditions were shifting into place so that when the First Lady made obesity reduction her cause (and one I heartily support) it may have been that last little bit of sunlight that caused the avalanche. My cynical side says food companies saw the opportunity to make more money by getting in front of the parade through changing formulations to eliminate the "bad" ingredients. My optimistic side said that there were people in those food companies that genuinely believed that they needed to change, after all, they had children and grandchildren too and cared about their futures. It's not a black or white issue here. It's gray. In my ideal world, big food companies aren't necessarily always the problem, its how they operate and the choices they make that put them in the category of saint or sinner.
• There is a bit of common wisdom that I believe has roots in science, which says that we see what we think about. Or said another way, we can't see what we don't think about. So it makes sense that someone like me sees lots of things going on in the world to change the relationship we have with food. But I know I have a lot of company from people concerned with the concept of sustainability which is bringing multiple disciplines together around issues that touch on food and more. This concept has been around for a long time, but again, people are able to more easily connect now and working collaboratively is more expected, since it's not possible to deal with complex problems in isolation. (Not sure it ever really was...)  Nearby the Center for a Sustainable Future (at my Alma Mater and my professor's former home Indiana University, South Bend Campus) is an example of this. Four years old, the center is a regional, cross-state-line effort to "... engage the campus and greater Michiana communities in creating a future focused on the "triple bottom line." Choices that are good for people and the planet, as well as profits, and that take into account ecological and social performance are promoted and encouraged by the Center." Everything is connected - food and manufacturing processes and HVAC and products used to clean the floors and health and more. Once things are viewed this way it makes it difficult to consider any one thing in isolation. Sustainability is the kind of framing mechanism that is giving this change legs. And sustainability too has economic benefits.

Sudden change takes a while. And looking at things as interconnected may help to move away from the win/lose, black/white mentality that has crept into so much of society. I'm hopeful that the conditions are such that rather than totally swallowing the efforts to change the current food system (some of which is inevitable) new recipes can be found that are beneficial to all. Call me Pollyanna. Others have. But things are happening. The key is to keep them moving.

Image from the website of The Center for a Sustainable Future, Indiana University, South Bend