Earlier in the semester, I kept a food journal documenting what I ate for 24 hours. I took the time afterward to analyze what I knew about the food I had consumed, and what broader implications may exist because of my eating habits.
8:00 am Tuesday, January 18th, 2011— 8:00 am Wednesday, January 19th, 2011
8:00 am 1 Royal Gala apple and natural peanut butter
10:30 am ½ glass of skim milk
1 banana and natural peanut butter
12:30 pm 2 large white eggs with: ½ a cooking onion, ½ roma tomato, lemon zest, cheddar cheese and ketchup
1 whole-wheat English muffin with ¼ of an avocado
½ bunch of kale with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and Parmesan cheese
2:30 pm 4 rosemary and olive oil Triscuits
4:30pm 1 skim mocha
½ cup combined tamari almonds and whole-wheat goldfish crackers
7:00 pm 2 Oreo cookies
9:45 pm 1½ cups of broccoli, cauliflower and red pepper sautéed withThai sweet chili sauce
¼ cup baked beans
1 graham cracker with Nutella spread
I thought I knew a whole lot more about what I eat than I actually do. A lot of my daily food staples such as; peanut butter, olive oil, cheese; including the Parmesan, and the baked beans were all produced under Superstore’s all encompassing no-name brand, President’s Choice. I try to eat the recommended amount of vegetables and fruits each day; however, this habit as my journal entry reflects, is not always congruent with the produce locally in season. At this time of year, a majority of the vegetables and fruits listed had to have been imported from different regions of the world; for example, the banana I ate was not grown in Canada. Our guest lecturer Trevor Lantz, introduced a game that he had initially played with his food. What source, plant or animal does the food you are consuming originate from or look like? I tried this approach throughout the day, but many items still had me clueless. I had no idea of the ingredients within my skim mocha, let alone the ingredients’ ingredients. Furthermore, the same can be said about almost everything I ate, including the highly manufactured Oreo cookies, Triscuits and Nutella. I can say I made a delicious lunch that included scrambled eggs, an English muffin, and a side of baked kale. However, I am not aware of any of the agriculture practices, extraction, labour or transportation costs that brought all these products to my plate. Illustrated so clearly through my personal eating habits, it becomes apparent that our society, myself included, maintains and enjoys the status quo of not knowing what we eat. By refusing to take notice, or give the time to investigate our food practices, our society is directly reflecting our consuming values of convenience, ignorance and excess.
Wider implication of my eating habits:
This journal entry really highlighted for me how an industry so essential to our survival, is so highly manipulated. By consuming several vegetables and fruits a day that are not grown organically, I am supporting intensive agricultural practices, including pesticide use. Moreover, I perpetuate a lighthearted attitude towards environmental degradation by purchasing a mocha coffee within a disposable cup. I encourage possible unethical treatment of labourers, the environment and our collective health when I purchase products like Triscuits, Pepperidge Goldfish crackers, Nutella and Oreos without knowing the company, it’s operations and the environmental impacts its practices may pose. The underlying question then arises, how does the regular consumer inquire about such information when the food industry is so highly protected and non-forthcoming? Moreover, my ignorance, and the blind eye I place upon the food industry’s operations and policies became increasingly apparent when completing this assignment. This exercise has emphasized that as consumers we have to enter a period where food ethics take priority, and through our solidarity and collective buying power, challenge the existing food industry practices. Our frivolous attitude towards food and the industry that controls it, is concerning not only for the consumer, but also for the labourer, the environment and future generations.
It was a good exercise to complete. However, now that I am at the end of my Environmental Studies 200 course, I would approach the exercise with a more analytic eye, and research further the detail that this entry is missing. I highly recommend trying this out, start with 24 hours, and if it is something that catches on for you, keep up with it. Plus, I found that if I was writing down what I was eating during the day, I wanted to eat healthier. Incentive based or not, try it out!
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