Brewed for Thought

While I was in Idaho, I had the opportunity to participate in a conversation with Southminster Pres members and friends who get together once a month for “Brewed for Thought.” Each meeting they gather for dinner, drinks and discussion; recently, they have been reading the Social Creed for the 21st Century, which I was excited to be introduced to.

Our discussion that evening centered on food production, consumption, and the local movement. D. and I had the opportunity to share a bit of our summer’s education with others.

There were too many topics and questions raised to recap them all here, so I will just mention two.

(1) After several specific questions raised (many of which we couldn’t really answer fully), the group began talking about how to make decisions about how to buy/consume food when we hear so many conflicting pieces of data from a myriad of sources. Ultimately, we turned to the question, “What do you value?” And then how can you let those values inform your inquiries and your purchases?

Some people may value chemical/natural production concerns and turn toward organic, others local, some may value special diet needs such as non-dairy, gluten-free, vegan/vegetarian). Ultimately, knowing what practices of food production most concern you and knowing what your priorities are will help you know what questions to ask, and where to put your money. (I also believe we should think beyond the concerns/priorities of only ourselves and also ask about the larger community and maybe world since Americans tend to lose that perspective easily.)

(2) The second observation I want to share was a personal one. After spending so much time with farm families and people who are hyper-conscious about sustainability, it was good for me to attempt to communicate my experiences and ‘the message’ of those I worked with to representatives of a more general population.

D. and I have been grateful for our really unintended back and forth between farm and friends. Not only has it provided respite mentally, emotionally, and physically, but it has allowed us to stay grounded in the reality of how distinctly different the communities we have participated in are from the way most of the population lives. While I believe what these sustainable communities do is beyond admirable, necessary perhaps, the depressing truth is that so many people are so far from this lifestyle. I can’t help but ask, how do we bridge that gap?