During the first COVID lock-down in Victoria, the fear of scarcity pushed us to make irrational food purchases. This is unfortunately again likely with the second lock-down and news that abattoir production will be reduced by a third.
During the first lock-down I read numerous articles and news stories about picking up a shovel and growing your own food; being more self-sufficient.
While this was and is a very pertinent idea, perhaps there’s another layer to this wisdom?
I think being in touch with the food you eat is much more than being self-sufficient. Knowledge is power. That’s because our food is now a commodity; something to be profiteered from.
Our food supply chains are negotiated in multinational boardrooms, so much more fragile than you might realise. Oddly, we look to understand the share market, but not how our food is owned and traded.
Do you feel comfortable knowing that just like an Apple iPad your choice of apples and how they look and taste are decided by corporations?
How many varieties of tomato have you eaten lately? There are over 10,000 tomato cultivars, but the big supermarket chains would have you believe there’s only one or two. And the varieties they do sell are not there for their amazing texture of flavour, but because they transport well i.e. they have a harder skin, so don’t bruise easily.
Oddly, our selection of fresh fruits and vegetables has been controlled for years. Multinational food companies make these decisions for you by taking control of the world’s seeds and genetically modifying them, not for consumer benefit, but for their profit. They control the food the farmers and ultimately you have access to.
So don’t grow your own food because of another pandemic or the desire to be a little more self sufficient. Grow your own food to stick your middle finger up at corporate greed and their desire to own what you eat.