Woman working on a rice field – Photo by Eduardo Prim
My perception of food is full of questions. What I eat has a direct influence on my life, from how what I ingest acts on my body, from my gut to my skin. It will probably influence my smell, even my mood, my day. Knowing where my food comes from is very important to me and I worry about how these food choices impact the environment.
I often find myself thinking about the way our feed has been put on automatic mode. And I’m not just talking about how we leave the task of preparing and delivering our food to others, it’s not just about fast food and delivery.
How the rice, tomatoes, and broccoli we eat were produced, the number of pesticides that were put into that food.
How was it cultivated? How much plastic packaging does this food involve?
It sounds crazy to think about it, but do we have any idea of the process our rice, beans, or chickpeas went through from the moment they were planted until they reached our plate? What are the living conditions of those people who work to grow our food?
Since I was a child, I have seen myself at some point in life planting what I’m going to consume, this reality is still distant for me and I understand that not everyone has this dream of planting and harvesting their own food. But, when we talk about food, we are talking about one of the ways that guarantee us vital energy. It would be interesting to at least exercise the autonomy of knowing exactly what we are ingesting in essence.
Not only the amount, calories, and components of the food used, but also the seasonings that have been added, the amount of salt, if and what kind of oil you add, and whether it is the healthiest option. To really think about what your body needs, what nutrients you have been eating in small amounts over the past few days, and enriching your next meals with foods that provide you with these nutrients.
Today’s world is in a great hurry and limits us to short breaks devoted to our food, stole from most of us the autonomy to at least choose, buy and prepare a good part of our meals. My thought is that in addition to the right to be able to eat, we should reassume the right to be connected to what we eat. We should reconnect with the earth.
