Burtonia Blogs: Food "Virtue" and Class

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Food "Virtue" and Class

It's hard to escape the developing social norms surrounding "virtuous food." I'm talking about organic food, locally grown food, cruelty-free food and the like. There are varied reasons touted for its merit (health, environment, trade, "social justice"). And there is always a message from people who eat this way (subtle or not-so-subtle): everyone should eat as I do. Let's set aside for a moment the question of whether these foods have the righteousness imputed (and consumed) by their proponents. Let's focus on the one thing they indubitably share: a high cost. Examine for a moment this article on folks who hire gardeners to plant and tend vegetable gardens in their back yard. An extreme case, yes, but it points out how unreasonable it is to expect everyone to eat this way. In fact this whole phenomenon represents another case of thoughtless condescension on the part of the well-off toward those less well off.

Labels: Locally Grown Food, Organic Food, Rich People Who Think Poor People Should Live Like Them

10 Comments:

I am with you on this.

By Timotheos, At July 24, 2008 12:08 PM
Two problems with that article: New York Times and San Francisco

As is my nature I have to present the following:

Is it possible for conventional food advocates to unwittingly (or not so unwittingly) hold an elitist position of their own? I.e. "I eat cheap preservative laden food and I'm proud of it". Just as annoying as the condesension laid out by the well-to-do Econuts.

BTW, I'm happy to eat Cheetos and hormone injected beef as the next guy.

By ron, At July 24, 2008 12:46 PM
Ron, if you want to call me out, just do it - don't hint around.

By Jeff Burton, At July 24, 2008 1:04 PM
Well, are you saying you eat cheap preservative laden food and you're proud of it?

If you are I hate to say it, but horrors, you might as well be sipping Francis Ford Coppola wine and watching you're righteous organic veggies grow.

By ron, At July 24, 2008 1:14 PM
You could not have better said what I've been thinking for YEARS!

This is my whole problem with the idea of teaching health food class in church.

Maybe someone will listen to you, I've just been looking like a crank.

By Brandy Dopkins, At July 26, 2008 11:06 AM
Brandy,

I trust you will take this as a gentle prod, but I have several people I know and respect who in discussing a different topic would end up saying:

"This is my whole problem with the idea of teaching about how to watch movies in church"

The conflicts are endless.

By ron, At July 27, 2008 9:22 AM
yea, I'm sure that's a whole 'nother can of worms. :)

By Brandy Dopkins, At July 27, 2008 9:50 AM
I am not in total agreement with the class issue and organic foods.There are plenty of earth-lovin' liberal folks living in farmhouses with peeling paint who grow organic food in their back yard. Can they be as snobby about their diet as those individuals whose organic veggies appear magically next to their Hummers? Absolutely! This is a heart issue involving self-appointed righteousness about diet that has been going on since the beginning of time. But the fact remains that not all foods are created equal even if we are.

By OilGirl, At July 27, 2008 8:22 PM
I have been pondering this a bit since I last commented. When I said, "I am with you on this", I should have been more specific. I am with you in that I too am becoming vexed by the elitism that I hear and see, which has become associated with eating certain ways. But this doesn't overturn my hope to eat in ways that are better for my body than other ways. I too love Cheetos, and they are especially good if you keep them in the freezer (a tip I learned from my father). But a steady diet of Cheetos, is not going to aid me in having physical energy for mission. So, I try to choose fruit for energy instead of Cheetos. Am I saying this to look down on others? No. Do I feel a superiority? Sometimes. Do I always make this choice? Nope. Is it a matter of adiaphora? Yep.

But then there is the other side. I have found that when people feel the 'elitism' of others, it is not always an elitism that they experience, but a feeling of guilt.

This is why I really like the Healthy Living class in Lifeshaping. Zach, and Jen, and others who fill in do a great job of balancing the tension of not looking down on others, trying to show connections between poor diet and physical problems, and all in the context of this being a matter of adiaphora, so that we can't bind the conscience of another and say, "You must eat this way!" Because, as Jesus says, the kingdom is more than food or what you will wear.

Not that you need me, but I am still with you in this, and this is a good reminder to guard my own heart against superiority or elitism, which can creep up in any stance I take.

By Timotheos, At July 28, 2008 6:12 AM
We try to eat organic because it is more healthy for us and our children- and we are soooo not rich, and hopefully not perceived as snobby.

By LauraLynn, At August 24, 2008 5:46 PM