Personal Responsibility and Food Politics

I'm going to try hard not to let this blog devolve into simply reposting everything Mark Bittman says. But I'm busy, and I think people should read what he writes about food policy and food justice, so here's his first bit of meta-commentary on his food manifesto. You should read both and then we should discuss.

He articulates an important point that I think gets lost in the debate about structural forces vs. personal responsibility:

"To those of you who argue that it’s a matter of personal responsibility, to some extent you’re right. However, it’s not only personal responsibility about what we put in our mouths but about determining how things are produced, marketed and sold. That’s our responsibility also."

The personal responsibility thing just kills conversation, in my experience, and ignores the fact that the choices we make individually for ourselves also impacts everyone and everything around us.

I have a long way to go before I've really figured out what I can and need to do to improve the food supply chain in this country, so I'll probably be linking to Bittman's column's and reflecting on them frequently in the future. I won't always have time to get into as much depth as I'd like, but hopefully they will be conversation starters.

My guys....

Ok...not really my guys per se. But I'm feeling nostalgic, and it was a pretty exciting day when I first watched this video with my top two favorite foodies in all the world.

Don't they just make you want to cook something delicious right now?

Enjoy!