Mayonnaise and Aeroplanes

As of the end of February I will have travelled over 50,000 kilometres around the globe in the past calendar year.


That might seem shocking but chances are, in any given day, the ingredients in the food you will eat and the drinks that you will consume will have travelled much more than that.


How is it that we now live in a world where people don't travel large distances that often but our food does?  


About a year ago I went to the travelling Titanic artifact exhibit in Kitchener and it really stuck me then how many people were travelling a century ago.  Technology had progressed to the point that large luxury liners were being built and people were taking advantage of this and going off and exploring.  And today, with travel technology having advanced to the point that the middle class should be able to well afford travel often, it is not happening like I suspect that our forefathers of a century ago would have predicted.  My grandfather was born in 1912 and three of his far flung children allowed him to visit three continents with regularity, especially upon his retirement.  His passing in 1996 allowed my mother to pass along a small amount of money to me that I used embark on my first solo hostel trek to the Rockies and down 101 to San Francisco.  I chose to do that with his money in order to honour him and acknowledge the tremendous influence he had on my explorer nature.


So, fast forward back to today.  I had the chance to re-watch this compelling video promoting local food consumption in Canada.  Ironically, this video just happens to be made by a food company owned by Unilever, one of the world's largest multinational food corporations.


Re-watching this video and pondering the ethics of a multinational creating a local food promotional video got me thinking of my recent travels.  Especially the travels I've taken since having strict dietary restrictions.  I have been dismayed by many food 'movement' related things.  I think that some of these concerns would be most easily presented in a list form:

1. The westernization of the Peruvian food system:  quinoa, a grain I cook with a lot, is native to South America but I only saw it on one menu down there whereas wheat, a non-native South American grain, permeates their food culture now.  I really expected to see this item (and corn) to be pervasive. But sadly, wheat based products were the norm for breakfast/lunch items that were provided by all of the travel industry hospitality providers (hostels/hotels/plane/trains/tourist delis/cafes).
2. A traditional Parisian delicacy is the macaron.  These are supposed to be made with almond flour.  In Paris I had a difficult time finding ones that did not have gluten-based flours added.  Only the really upscale cafes had them.
3. In Newfoundland it has become a bit of a joke with my family.  The outport stores and restaurants are nearly entirely supplied by Kraft.  And who knows? Maybe Hellman's (Unilever) is hoping to penetrate outport Canadian markets with an ad like the one above....there is only Miracle Whip (Kraft's competing salad dressing product) on the plates for most of Newfoundland and perhaps in other remote locations throughout Canada too.
4. Everybody marvels about the food in New York City so I was surprised at how difficult it was to find food that wasn't laced with gluten and dairy. However, the Big Apple redeemed itself when we found Friedman's Lunch via a Manhattan gluten free search on yelp.  This delicious place is located in Manhattan's historic Chelsea market and I heartily recommend a trip there followed by a stroll along the adjacent High Line if you get a chance.

So again, I ask....how is it that a century ago the western culture was focussed on shipping people around the world and in the span of 100 years we now ship food around the world?  A We are shipping basically homogenized food that is easy to grow, store, and prepare (wheat/soy).  Local cultures are being processed into extinction.  It is readily recognized by every culture on the planet that food is a unifying force and the rituals around food are what bring people together.  If a culture can not claim their own local specialized and easily available food then it is less likely to have a strong community.  

Food is a linchpin in all religions and given the long lasting and pervasive power of all of the major religions I think us food activists could take a page from them.  The more we scream LOCAL the more likely we will succeed not only in community building but also the preservation of localized culture.  And if Unilever, or any other person or organization of power, wants to use food to further their own agenda we should be throwing our hats into the air with a celebratory cheer.  

Me at Friedman's Lunch in NYC December 2011.  Best gluten free hamburger, ever!

Diets, Fads and Religion

I recently interacted with a couple of people who I didn't realize were animal welfare activists.  Not PETA members but apparently just as fanatical.

When I told them I had been a vegetarian and even a vegan for a number of years in my late 20s-early 30s they seemed to get quite animated (i.e. there is hope...we can draw her back).  They seemed about to crush my argument of losing energy while on a vegetarian diet when I pulled out the big guns and told them that I was no longer a vegetarian because of medical reasons.

That confounded them and I could see the disbelief in their eyes.  I repeated the phrase "We all have our own beliefs when it comes to our diet" a number of times in a number of different ways.  One of them was dismissive, immediately.  I felt the need to explain even further and was flustered by not remembering all the fancy names for the chemicals and the reactions that take place in the stomach when certain foods are eaten by people with certain auto immune diseases.

It brought to mind a potluck dinner party I went to in the last year where there was discussion about what ingredients were in certain foods (undoubtedly instigated by myself since being gluten free always inspires this).  After about 10 minutes of lively discussions by pairings in the entire party (we were all in the kitchen gathering our plates of food) someone piped up:  "Remember when we went to dinner parties and nobody talked about dietary restrictions?".  All of us laughed because yes, I think the 21st century has brought an awareness of food and health issues and the scientific research has advanced enough so that even an individual who is not a food scientist/nutritionist/doctor can assess for themselves how they feel eating certain foods and eliminating others.

For example, have you ever given up gluten?  When I first gave up gluten I felt a definitely lifting of "brain fog" that I had no idea was even there.  I've talked to others about this and it is not uncommon.  Unfortunately that is not why I remain gluten free.  I follow a specialty diet since I have multiple sclerosis.  My logic in doing so is:  a) I can't afford the traditional treatments; and b) there is not a lot of evidence that the treatments do anything.  So since I really don't have anything to lose and can possibly prevent blindness or a wheelchair in my future (or worse) I might as well give this a go.  And from nearly 5 years of experience following the diet I can say that the diet affects my quality of life too.

As I attempted to explain this, the looks of disbelief in the eyes of the animal rights activists I was talking to broke my heart.  These are people that haven't faced these type of choices and they were regarding my own choice as evidence that I was some kind of wacko.

This is the way many  people regard religious fanatics too yet mega food corporations have embraced them. These companies are merely exemplifying the age old truism:  "Religion makes money".  I find it offensive that people automatically dismiss diet restrictions as a fad when many people are following them for real health reasons.  These same people might respect a muslim for their halal food choices or a jew for their kosher choices in the interest of embracing religious diversity.  I don't really expect that to change anytime soon but by writing this perhaps I will enlighten just one person.  As one activist I had contact with for many years used to say in the face of clear public adversity:  "We soldier onwards."