Consumerism with a conscience is all the rage. Curing AIDS with Gap t-shirts, promoting fair trade with Bono's Edun jeans - it's never been easier to be an activist.
But eating right - and we're not talking brussel sprouts - is one area where you can actually make a difference. Everyone buys and eats food, and more and more people are growing conscious of the social implications of their culinary choices.
Living in Philadelphia, we're disconnected from the most fundamental aspect of the food chain: production. "People . think food comes from the grocery store," said Johanna Rosen, co-founder of Mill Creek Farm in northwest Philadelphia.
Philly's at the forefront of the burgeoning urban agriculture movement - bringing locally grown foods to the city. Apart from health and environmental benefits, urban agriculture empowers the local community. "[People are] a lot less likely to be hungry than if they're reliant on the larger system," said Rosen. Most people in the neighborhood surrounding Mill Creek, located at 49th and Brown, live below the poverty line and don't have access to healthy food.
Industrial agriculture has so changed food systems in this country, said Jade Walker, Mill Creek's other co-founder, that people "think you have to buy it if you want to experience it." But farms like Mill Creek, of which there are several in Philadelphia, are about providing food access to everyone. "Food is not a privilege. Food should never be a privilege," said Walker. From the perspective of Mill Creek Farm and countless other food activists out there, food is a fundamental human right.
Here are some ways for your grocery needs to transcend into the political realm. Integrating these tips into your life might not be as easy as wearing a Save Darfur t-shirt, but it's worth the effort. The best advice we can give? Pick a "food cause" of your own, and dig in.
If you have to shop at a supermarket, try to find labels that tell where different products originate, and buy foods that have traveled the shortest possible distance to you. But in the spirit of local economic self-determination, it's best to patronize West Philly businesses.
Mariposa, at 47th and Baltimore, is one of the few member-run co-ops left in the country. It only costs $20 a year and two hours of your time a month to have access to their sustainably produced goods.
