Chains and Networks (read Interconnectedness)
I was browsing around Amazon when I found "The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals" on the New York Times best-sellers list for non-fiction. Here is an excerpt of a review from The Washington Post:
"...almost everything we eat has used enormous amounts of fossil fuels to get to our tables. Oil products are part of the fertilizers that feed plants, the pesticides that keep insects away from them, the fuels used by the trains and trucks that transport them across the country, and the packaging in which they're wrapped. We're addicted to oil, and we really like to eat."
"We've lost touch with the natural loops of farming, in which livestock and crops are connected in mutually beneficial circles."
These are great points and I am reminded of a Buddhist outlook on the situation. In the days of my M.Sc. I sat down to a wonderful home-cooked Indian meal from a friend of my roommate. The three of us plus another friend sat down to eat. We decided it would be appropriate to show our appreciation for the food and so each of us in turn said something (you can imagine the usual thanks offerings). When it was my turn I thanked the cook but also talked about the grocery store, the farmers, the transport companies, the employees of those companies, the truck manufacturer and their employees, the road and highway planners and those that maintain them, big gas & oil, and on and on. The point was that although our friend had prepared the meal there were countless people behind it, just like in every single thing we do everyday- none of us are independent.
If this book helps to get people to think about these topics more that will be a great feat and although I will probably never read the book, I have to be somehow glad to see such topics on the best-sellers list.
"...almost everything we eat has used enormous amounts of fossil fuels to get to our tables. Oil products are part of the fertilizers that feed plants, the pesticides that keep insects away from them, the fuels used by the trains and trucks that transport them across the country, and the packaging in which they're wrapped. We're addicted to oil, and we really like to eat."
"We've lost touch with the natural loops of farming, in which livestock and crops are connected in mutually beneficial circles."
These are great points and I am reminded of a Buddhist outlook on the situation. In the days of my M.Sc. I sat down to a wonderful home-cooked Indian meal from a friend of my roommate. The three of us plus another friend sat down to eat. We decided it would be appropriate to show our appreciation for the food and so each of us in turn said something (you can imagine the usual thanks offerings). When it was my turn I thanked the cook but also talked about the grocery store, the farmers, the transport companies, the employees of those companies, the truck manufacturer and their employees, the road and highway planners and those that maintain them, big gas & oil, and on and on. The point was that although our friend had prepared the meal there were countless people behind it, just like in every single thing we do everyday- none of us are independent.
If this book helps to get people to think about these topics more that will be a great feat and although I will probably never read the book, I have to be somehow glad to see such topics on the best-sellers list.
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