Sometimes the World Does not Inspire Confidence

Food Security, or I don't delegate well, or Eat locally, or The End is Near. Not sure what to call this post. Here is the thing. I went to the market today and again returned home quite discouraged. I want to be able to produce all of the food that my family eats, but even if it is possible, we just are not there yet. I am comfortable with some compromise in this area. I am not comfortable though with not knowing where the purchased parts of our diet come from.

I know that most people are good and well meaning. I know that most of the people who work to make and grow food are good and well meaning. I worry though about the people that are not especially bad but that fall just short of well intentioned. When I go to the market I encounter many folks who seem to be making less than considerate choices. Little things I mean. Does the individual who spits gum on the ground not realize that it will stick to someone's shoe? Consider the gentleman who parks nearby to clean his car. He carefully buffs the car with a soft cloth and then tidies the interior by tossing all of his trash onto the ground. I see shoppers change their minds about the foods in their carts, so the items gets stuffed in the rack wherever they happen to be at the time. I notice that people are unwilling to walk their shopping carts to the corral that has been provided for them. Little bits of effort that are not worth the trouble. These things worry me. Our family term for these people is zombies because they seem to be operating without any thought processes. I think that most of us are guilty of behaving this way from time to time.

I have spent enough time working in restaurants and food preparation jobs that I know how much care needs to go into the production of clean and healthful food. If I can see examples of careless behavior in my community, I think that I can assume it also occurs in the unseen parts of food production. I also know that no one should be expected to care more about my families health than I do. Zombies can't be expected to. I don't expect the government to keep an eye on it for me either. I think for us, the answer is to keep working to produce more of our own food, but also to find real people to buy food from. Local food is wonderful, but really what is important to me is to be able to look a farmer in the eye and see that there is a real person there. -Polly