The Dilemmas of a Foodie

I love food. I love thinking about food, reading about it, cooking it and most of all, eati ng it. What I don’t like is that occasionally I have to go shopping for groceries. In the supermarket, I’m forced to face the agonizing responsibility of being able to choose between organic, conventional, local, imported, Fair Trade certified, whatever-certified, healthy and unhealthy products. Is it too much to ask that my food doesn’t harm me, animals, the environment or the people who produce it?

I have been inclined to believe that seasonal, organic, local produce is the best solution for me, the environment and even the economy. One problem with organic farming is that most of the matter that is used to fertilize organic fields originates from the backsides of cows. So, by buying organic food, I vicariously support animal agriculture. One of the main reasons why I became a vegetarian was that I didn’t want to support such a cruel form of exploitation.

Local food around here is great in the summer and in the autumn, when everything is in season. Forests are full of berries and mushrooms, waiting to be picked, free of charge. But during the cold, dark winter months, the local all-you-can-eat-buffet consists of potatoes, carrots and cabbage in all its fermented glory. Then I can’t help but close my eyes and go to my happy place where all kinds of fruits and vegetables are locally abundant all year round.

Sometimes, all a girl needs is a big bar of chocolate and a juicy banana. Sad to say, they are among the foods that, no matter how organic or fair trade, don’t grow locally around here, however hard you want them to. Speaking about Fair Trade, shouldn’t all trade be fair? Maybe instead of a Fair Trade certification system we need an Unfair Trade certificate, so that all products not meeting the Fair Trade standards could be marked with a “by buying me you exploit”- sticker.

Then there’s the problem with excess packaging. Everything has to be vacuum-packed, then slipped into a plastic bag, and then finally wrapped in nice, colored paper or cardboard. In the end, you end up carrying home more trash than food.  I dream of a world where everything I need can be bought in bulk.

All this raises a few more disturbing thoughts: can one consumer really make a difference? Is all this just a way of cleaning my conscience, so that when everything goes haywire, I can say:”I didn’t do it”? We have what most people in the world don’t: a choice. I will try to use my choice so that it can benefit not only me but also the people who don’t have the luxury to choose. I want to believe that I can make a difference. It may sound like holier-than-thou crap, but it’s true.

Think, but try not to think too much. After all, it’s not what we think that counts, it’s what we do.    
Who thought buying food could be such a task?


Teksti Leena Kelloniemi
Kuva Päivi Simi