IMO: 2/5. Thought-provoking, informative, difficult read, forceful agenda

This book felt like a college textbook; which makes sense since my daughter read it in an honors class at the University. It took me three years to read. Some nights I only read a page before it put me to sleep.

It may not sound like a book I’d recommend, but it sure lit a fire under me to act. With that being said, I am skeptical of facts coming from anyone with an obvious agenda, as Raj Patel, author of Stuffed and Starved; The Hidden Battle for the World Food System clearly had. Facts are facts, but numbers can be skewed and facts presented or intentionally left out, can support or negate a desired narrative.

Patel sets the scene well… Farmers are in dire straits, the world food system is a catastrophe, and consumers are ignorant. Hmm… ignorant, too busy to notice or make changes, or hopeless. Throughout the book, I experienced all of that.

Stuffed and Starved discussed government subsidizing farmers, encouraging over-production of grains and the effect on developing countries; how big box chain store designs are psychological, making consumers pawns in the game of shopping; obesity rates skyrocketing; the rise of fast food. It introduced different organizations and movements that are standing up to worldwide injustices and gave examples of individuals that are dedicating their lives to right wrongs.

It was compelling. And it was frustrating. On many levels.

Patel made us out to be incapable victims while describing corporations as the attacker. “…adult responses to the inducements to consume are… no more sophisticated than those of a three-year-old.” (pg 276). I see his point, but I reject it. Manipulation is intense. Living healthy enlightened lives is hard. Even so, I choose to consume advertisements. I choose to eat a certain way. Or I don’t. Corporations are not out to get you. Their goal is to profit, without which they have no drive to exist. They are neutral. We choose everyday what we will consume, who we will support and how we will live. *This is a blanket statement. There are food deserts in the US; the root causes need to be explored and the problem rectified. I also acknowledge that children don’t have as much choice as adults. I guess we could say that children are the victims of their parents’ choices. Let’s be better.

I hoped that after Patel painted the picture of Farmers’ extremely high suicide rates, the systemic financial abuse in getting food from farm to table and the harm we’re doing to our bodies and the environment by the choices we’re making, he’d give us solutions.

My hopes were dashed. At one point, I thought Patel was suggesting we buy ‘Fair Trade’ products, until he highlighted why the Fair Trade process was not good enough. He talked about buying local, but that’s not good enough either. He discussed the Slow Food Movement in great detail, then went on to explain its follies. At times, I struggled to understand the author’s point.

In the end, I came to realize that his solution is to destroy capitalism, redistribute wealth, and take down corporations. I’m not on board with all that. Even if I were, who’s got time for that? I barely have time to meal plan for my family.

I am however, still glad I read the book. I am a little less ignorant of the plight of Farmers, and more aware of the importance of my choices. I can only control my household, but that’s a start.

Here’s my plan:

• Buy Local. I will seek out co-ops, Farmers markets, or other local means to put food on my table; supporting my community, giving my body the freshest food and reducing cost and energy of packaging and transportation. (Since it’s winter, we don’t have Farmers Markets, so I signed up for Full Circle delivery service. They use ‘local’ (WA, OR, CA mostly) organic farms and deliver to my doorstep. Along with that, we will be meal planning for two weeks instead of one, relying on the Full Circle delivery for our Week Two produce. Saving gas, reducing pollution, supporting local farms, saving money by only giving myself a chance for impulse buys two times rather than four. Summer time I will utilize Farmers Market)
• I will look for the Fair Trade label on packaged food. The program isn’t perfect, but it’s better than nothing. Until the PNW efficiently grows coffee beans, the Fair Trade label will just have to be good enough.
• Garden. I will practice growing my own food.
• I will continuously explore ways to be a more responsible consumer, including paying attention to packaging! Trader Joe’s is great… but why is all their produce wrapped in plastic?? Plastic- Bad bad.
• I won’t shy away from emailing my legislator. We shouldn’t be waiving taxes or subsidizing big companies (like Walmart and the Hilton), and the handling of farming subsidies needs to change!
• I will choose to slow down, breathe and savor the life in front of me. It might seem off topic, but it’s not.
• I will do my best without making myself crazy.

None of us can do it all. But all of us can do something. If we change a little piece of our world, the ripple effects will go further than our own homes. Enough ripples and the whole world will feel it.

Our century, which began and has developed under the insignia of industrial civilization, first invented the machine and then took it as its life model.

We are enslaved by speed and have all succumbed to the same insidious virus: Fast Life, which disrupts our habits, pervades the privacy of our homes
and forces us to eat fast foods.

To be worthy of the name, Homo Sapiens should rid himself of speed before it reduces him to a species in danger of extinction.

A firm defence of quiet material pleasure is the only way to
oppose the universal folly of fast life.

May suitable doses of guaranteed sensual pleasure and slow, long-lasting enjoyment preserve us from the contagion of the multitude who mistake frenzy for efficiency

Dario Fo, Nobel laureate

I disagreed with so many things this author supported and said. I don’t think we’d make good friends nor would I want to go to coffee with him. But I do think he is passionate about people and the planet, I can get behind that. His website is a wealth of information, take it with a grain of salt. Enjoy. https://rajpatel.org/