Food is a Drug

Articles appearing over the past few days in the New York Times and the Globe and Mail have confirmed in the popular press what I’ve suspected for a long time – that today, food is literally being designed to make us addicts. Instilling cravings, motivating us to buy and consume more calories than we need, the food industry profits from our obesity. In fact, eating more than we should is the only thing the manufacturer’s needn’t compete over – increasing the size of our appetites means there is a bigger pie for them to share.

The situation of our food production systems today of course needs to be looked at from many perspectives – how does access to food relate to class oppression, radicalized communities, how does it relate to the welfare and rights of food animals, and of course capitalism. One of those perspectives needs to be the way desires are produced in us, both by public relations and by the engineering of food to maximize its addictive potential, and recognizing that those desires are neither natural nor healthy for us as individuals or as a class or as a society. We can’t take our diets for granted – we don’t choose them as rational free individuals any more than we believe that rational agency theory is an adequate account of human behaviour. And while we shouldn’t blame the victims, we should blame the aggressors -including big agriculture and meat production, the snack food industry, and fast-food. These industries have colonized our minds and our stomachs, have made us slaves to cravings, and have normalized a meat-heavy diet that would have been impossible for anyone but the ultra rich before 20th century technological improvements in agricultural and food animal production.

Why am I vegan? In not very many words

Tonight I was asked why did I become vegan? The answer I came up with is pretty good I think, and worth sharing with the internet. 

Eating at home

When you make

your own food
it just tastes
better.

 

Photo Credit: Kaela Greenstien 

Fake Nazareth Recipe

Everyone knows that Nazareth is the best restaurant in Toronto. But you can’t always make it out there. Sometimes you just have to make your lentils at home. Here’s my recipe – it’s not really Nazareth style food. It isn’t even really Ethiopian. But it’s satisfying and simple and heavy on the lentils:

Dahl – saute onions and garlic, add spices (incl pepper) add red lentils. Add water and 1 can of tomato paste. When done mix in cilantro

Salad – quinoa, cubed cucumber, chopped celery, grape tomatoes, top with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and hot sauce and zatar.

Place Salad on large plate, leaving space in the middle. Spoon Dahl into middle until it is piled high. Eat with friends or lovers from the same bowl.

Tapas at Home

What can you do when no one around is doing anything?

I haven’t been able to find anything going on in Toronto in support of the Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike. This frustrates me somewhat – isn’t this suppose to be the centre of Palestinian activism in North America? Am I the only activist who follows twitter and the internet, and thinks local actions should be temporally connected with local actions being directed by Palestinians on the ground over there?

Anyway, there is a global call out, or so I’ve read on various blogs and on twitter, to join the Palestinian prisoners in their hunger strike for one day – Today, the 12th of October. It’s past midnight now, so between now and tomorrow at midnight, not a morsel of calorific food will cross my tongue.

I fasted on Saturday as well, although that was for slightly less than 24 hrs, and I never really felt that hungry. This might be because I was drinking coffee, which keeps up the energy levels. But, if I don’t have coffee, I can’t effectively do my work, and I can’t afford to simply take days off at this point.

Anyway, if anyone is interested in the hunger strike, you can read the post I made about it, or probably better, check out electronic intifada for current updates.

 

Simcoe, Ontario – Migrant workers stage Wildcat Strike

This press release describes the situation at Ghesquiere Farms, where

Over a 100 migrant farm workers employed at Ghesquiere Plants Ltd. are  facing imminent repatriation (deportation) after staging a wildcat strike to demanding thousands of dollars in unpaid wages.

The migrant workers from Mexico, Jamaica, Trinidad and Barbados came together across racial, linguistic and ethnic lines to organize this wild cat strike and strengthen their collective power. The workers employed by this farm described numerous rights violations and complaints about their living conditions including the following:

•    Workers are each owed from $1000 to $6000  in unpaid wages
•    Workers are to be evicted and will be homeless as of Thursday, November 25th, 2010
•    Most of the Mexican and Trinidadian workers will be repatriated by this Thursday. All Jamaican
workers have been repatriated.
•    Electricity and heat has been cut off in one bunk
•    Deplorable and very crowed living conditions

Some good blog coverage of the situation is available on “Youth and Work“.

A Plea: Replace “Grace” with “Justice”

 

 

It is a common religious tradition to “say Grace” before a meal. In Abrahamic religions “saying Grace” refers to thanking the supreme deity for the food, and for the dominion he has granted humans over this earth. This meaning seems outdated, however, in a time when the idea of “human dominion over the earth” is ridiculed by the widespread disregard for the externalities of capital accumulation. The status quo of mere “business as usual” carbon emissions point our history towards a non trivial chance of human extinction, and yet there are no signs of a world agreement which might prevent all fossil fuels from being combusted. Humans are failing to show their ability to take up the responsibility which any “dominion” they might hold over the planet would bestow upon them.

In other words, the idea of “dominion”, palpable enough in the middle ages, has in late modernist society become an anachronistic joke.

 

And yet, it seems foolhardy to throw out the idea of engaging in a reflective practice before taking a meal. Eating is perhaps the most universal practice engaged in by humans – is it wrong to see it as a place of potential communion between individuals of disparate cultures, political and class interests, etc…? Some might suggest that we turn “Grace” around: rather than thank God for the dominion humans have been granted over the world – why not follow a commonly perceived trend in indigenous traditions to thank the animal or plant for its gift of life, and recognize that we too will be returned to the earth in time to allow for further rebirth and re-generation?

 

It seems a nice enough idea, but this simple reversal of “Grace” is not enough – it fails to recognize the reality of ecological devastation which has followed from the false dominion humans in fact do, through industrialization, hold over the earth. This “dominion” must be recognized to be a product not of God but of human history. To the extent that we fail to live up to the obligations that this event in human history places on us humans, we must be redeemed by redeeming ourselves inside that same history.

 

In contrast to either “Grace” or its reversal, I therefore suggest we say “Justice”. “Justice” refers to a human desire for the recognition and instantiation of certain moral principles beyond the extent to which they currently are manifested in current institutions and practices. In other words, the norm or ideal of “justice” is always beyond the reality of shared human experience. And this is a good thing – it expresses the positive aspect of the human ideal of progress.

 

So, what does “Justice” sound like? Whereas “Grace” thanks God for the dominion of humans over the earth, “Justice” demands that we recognize our privilege, and the expression of that privilege in our easy access to good, healthy food. Justice demands we recognize the inequality, tyranny and oppression involved in the production and transportation of that food, and the struggles of the oppressed for better working conditions and access to justice. One such struggle is the march that took place this thanksgiving, in which 125 migrant workers and allies walked the 50 kilometres from Leamington to Windsor to protest the precarious situation of migrant workers working on farms and as live in caregivers in Canada. Another is the Lubicon first nation, who having had much their traditional hunting territory destroyed by oil and gas development, and who desire the settlement of land claims and restitution for violations committed against them by the Canadian state and corporations.

 

Justice demands that we support such actions, and the reform which would make our privilege, or at least the environmentally sustainable portion of it, available to all humans. And what better place to start than with the demand for universal access to good healthy food, along with the demand that this food be harvested ethically, with an eye to future generations, and without barbaric labour practices such as the ongoing war against the unionization of farm labour.

 

So, why not say “Justice” tonight, before thanksgiving dinner? Or better, say it before every meal. And, if you are caught in a particular religious tradition which forces you to think transcendentally about human dominion – why not supplement your “Grace” with some “Justice”. After all, Jesus was a communist.

 

Desire-Production: When the State Recognizes and Clamps down on Marketing

While many recognize capitalism is about extracting surplus value from labour and the means of production by producing products more valuable than the work and resources required to produce them, what is often less recognized is the importance of the production of the desire which makes those products valuable enough to be produced profitably. In fact, the logically prior form of production in capitalism is desire-production, for without constantly renewing desire the populous will not constantly re-purchase a thing when what one already has is not worn out. Since quality and reliability are strong values, it is necessary for marketers to encourage people to replace their goods long before those goods are near the end of their service life.

Mostly, the state approves of desire-production – after all it is an important condition for constant growth. Its power is rarely acknowledged – we are encouraged to think that we want new products because they are objectively better, because things are improving – not because that desire is produced in us by an alien force. However, when marketing is seen to be producing a desire which is socially taboo or illegal, all of a sudden the state’s repressive apparatus clamps down on marketers and aggressively justifies this clampdown in terms of the power of marketing. This is most clear in the restriction of the marketing of cigaretts towards children.

This issue is topica today because legislation passed by the Federal Government has come into effect, banning the sale of flavoured cigarettes marketed towards youth, sometimes called “Candy Cigarettes”. Retailers have had the last 9 months to remove these from their shelves – after today if they are caught selling the illegal goods they will be subject to “potential enforcement action, including fines”.

The singling out of cigarette advertising for its destructive force is nothing new – Canada has already banned the marketing of cigarettes from television, radio, and cultural event sponsoring by cigarette companies was banned in 2003.

The rhetoric surrounding the marketing of cigarettes is always an interesting insight into the ambiguous capitalist/democratic power structures. When else would Stephen Harper condemn a corporation for engaging in “unscrupulous marketing practices”?

Either being sarcastic, or a typical un-analytic libertarian, “Tom” on the Macleans discussion board says

Why do they not get rid of chips and candy bars and soda pop as well, the obesity that kids face to day is worse that the possibility of picking up smoking.

This comment points towards the other incident I know of in Canada when a government recognizes the negative role desire-production plays in the formation of youth in our society – the BC Liberal’s campaign against junk food in schools. In Campbell’s 2004 address to delegates he stated:

To build on that success over the next year, I have asked Tom Christensen to work with public school boards to eliminate junk food from the public schools of British Columbia. And just so there is no question, let me be as clear as I can be: by the end of our next term, junk food in our schools will be gone!

Now, I have plenty to disagree with on the topic of Gordon Campbell’s government, and on this specific issue their impact on my old high school cafeteria was actually negative (their funding cuts shut down the locally run food preparation classes and forced their replacement by contracted out pre-prepared frozen style food, uncannily similar to what is ridiculed in Super Size Me). From what I’ve seen, Junk Food was not eliminated in BC schools by 2006, but perhaps I’m wrong. Either way, it’s the rhetoric that’s interesting – once something becomes a publicly endorsed, or even endorsable position, it becomes possible to assert it and fight for its enactment.

Hopefully, the incremental increases in public recognition (by which I mean recognition in the political and business press) of the importance of marketing and its role in desire, will help lead to a society-shift in the perception of marketing as such. The recognition that many of our desires are not genuinely ours, but produced in us in order to set us to work for someone else’s gains is not optional for the coming to pass of genuinely free society.

The Trip So Far

My European tour 2010 promises to be quite an adventure. A Castle of philosophy in Ireland, a friend in Belfast, and then some mountainous adventures in Switzerland, and hopefully a little hop in to France at the end!

But, my trip to the Castle in Ireland is a voyage in itself. Check here for photos so far. Yesterday I took the 7am train from Toronto to Montreal, to catch a 7pm flight out to Heathrow. The train was uneventful, and I did quite a bit of reading. I read the first hundred pages of “The Weathermakers” by Tim Flannery, a book I actually found on the street on my way to the subway station. The book is good, although a bit out of date (2005). It’s general message – the science is certain enough and we need to start acting to slow global warming – remains true today, with increasing urgency (although, from any reasoned perspective, the urgency was quite great back in 2005 as well). Urgency, however, is not rational – it’s an emotion. Hopefully the emotion or urgency with respect to action on climate change increases in the near future – otherwise, as I learned from Hansen’s book, the venus syndrome is a real possibility.

However, I hadn’t meant to read that book, and I have course reading to finish before the start of the philosophy program on Monday, so I abandoned the book in Montreal. I had quite a good time there, despite only having a half-day. Simon was just finishing packing, and like Totem park and Fairview residences, there was much free-stuff to be had. I took some tea, because I like the idea of having english breakfast tea in my residence room in a castle. We went to the “OP”, which is an outdoor beer garden on the last day of school. We hate charity samosas, and drank 4 beers for 10 dollars – and good beers from the McAusland brewery – Ambroise Blonde, and Griffin extra-blonde ales. The “moment” of the beer garden was standing in line, hearing someone behind the counter yell “We’re out of Moosehead!”. Simon and I laughed expansively – who drinks Moosehead?

Simon’s friends continue to impress me – I met a good number at the beer garden and they remind me highly of people I would have met in first year. Not to say I’m nostalgic – I like my friends now, and I like being friends with 25-35 year olds. But I love the creativity, open-ness of smart kids just getting started. It really makes me think about what kind of school I’d like to teach in – I’ve had fantastic experiences teaching philosophy in high school for short periods, and generally disappointing experiences teaching philosophy at York. My empirical conclusion was to perhaps not teach university philosophy – but perhaps its more a matter of which university one teaches at. The best would be to teach in an integrated first year program like Arts Legacy at McGill, or the defunct Foundations Program at UBC (which still has its website!)

My flight to the UK was delayed 3 hours on the tarmac due to a broken radio. “Everyone knows how the number 2 radio works until it stops working”, I said to the man sitting next to me, and then followed with Jordan Peterson‘s story of a crashed computer caused by instability in the sun. The man I sat next to was actually quite interesting – from Pakistan, moved to Canada in 1989 because he was not able to get a US passport. Upon arriving in Canada, immediately moved to the US, but moved back in 3 days due to hating it. He really noticed a difference between people in Canada and in the United States, and after experiencing it first hand, no longer had an interest in becoming a US citizen. He now works as a chef in Saint-Hyacinthe, near to Sainte Madelaine where I spent a week in grade 6 on an exchange trip. (I’ve been thinking about that trip a lot recently – mostly because I really could do the J’Explore program next year and justify it as a scholarly activity. Apparently doing J’Explore in a small town is like going back to elementary school, mom included (your home-stay parents are paid to cook for you and do your laundry!), except you are old enough to drink.) He still owns shops in Pakistan, and travels back yearly to pay taxes, etc… He agrees that flying is insane – it’s shooting through the sky in a thin tube full of too many people.

He asked me about 2012, what my perspective was on it as a philosopher. I told him about how eschatology is thought within the German Phenomenological tradition – how the idea that the overturning would occur at a single moment in time is (thought to be) due to a mistaken interpretation of time itself. However, I think within the right interpretation of temporality, there is something eschatological about time, and it has something to do with something like “gods”, the divinities, the non-human. I actually believe Global warming might be the “in the face of an absent god” which Heidegger foresaw as a manner of humans “going under” in the Der Spiegel interview. For effect, I might as well cite the relevant passage here:

Only a god can still save us. I think the only possibility of salvation left to us is to prepare readiness, through thinking and poetry, for the appearance of the god or for the absence of the god during the decline; so that we do not, simply put, die meaningless deaths, but that when we decline, we decline in the face of the absent god.

This translation is confusing – I’ve seen “meaningless deaths” translated as “go under” in other places. Another indication that Jim is right and I must learn German, at least Scholar’s German. Anyway, the point is, humanity will not go-under without facing its own inability to recognize that which is radically other to it, that which radically exceeds its power. Global warming is such a phenomena – because while we might know the technical solutions, we do not know how to deal with the socio-psychic blockades against action. Capitalism, insofar as it reproduces irrationality, can either be seen as a lack (humans failing to be perfectly rational), or, we might need to face that humanity has something barbarous about it, and therefore it is not due to something inhuman that we fail to act to save the planet – but rather due to something deeply human, or at least western-historical.

Anyway, the good news is I was booked executive class to Ireland. This is good not because of the flight itself, but because it means i have access to the executive lounge during the 4 hour delay. This lounge is amazing – free expensive beer, expensive wine, expensive food. Rich people sure know to live. What strikes me most about it, however, is the absence of advertising, the total absence of commercialization of the space. This isn’t to say the space is neutral – it privileges certain kinds of body movement, intellectual style (through which newspapers and magazines are available for free), and diet (not so many vegan options). But, there is nothing about the space encouraging me to buy things I don’t need, or to over-consume. The amazing thing about a fridge full of free beer in a place like this is that no one over-drinks. I’ve said before that I think we should get rid of most restaurants and replace them with free food supply for all (non-luxury). I think this would reduce over-eating radically, because of the diminishing marginal price of fast food (always a “better deal” if you supersize). The fact that it works here indicates that it could work in the rest of society – all that’s required is the destruction of the public relations industry.

I should get back to readings for the philosophy program.