Throw Me Some Optimism
“write about your class discussions, your rants, your ish with the world, and i’ll find you the readership”
– here it is royboy.
In my food policies class:
What makes me sad –
“Why do people spend so much time, energy, resources, and money, keeping people sick, uneducated, poverished, and demoralized in this country?! Why does Capitalism Rule?”
“That’s like blaming the victim” — the fact that there even is a power/victim relationship constantly in the structures of this society, is exhausting.
What makes me angry –
“Why a public-private partnership to end the global health crisis without focusing on its central problem first: POVERTY?”
– Because when it comes down to it, Capitalism keeps the poor people in their place, demoralized and angry that they have to fend for themselves,
and tackling the problem of poverty in the greater sense starts with deconstructing the whole value system in which America was built and breeds on. I feel as though this country needs to re establish it’s core values of abundance, consumption, and american exceptionalism, when clearly our generation is finally feeling the consequences of a ‘crash and burn’ repetitive economic hegemonic society.
As Donald Worster states in Dust Bowl (reading from the FS 1:Agri class, but overlaps perfectly, and talks about the three main tenants of Capitalism, “in pure capitalism, the self as an economic being is not only all-important, but autonomous and irresponsible”, “the social order should permit and encourage this continual increase of personal wealth, and capitalism is an intensely maximizing culture, always seeking to get more out of the natural resources of the world than it did yesterday”. -pg 6
Hence large corporations don’t have to take responsibility for their actions, and neither does the government or policy makers who act on their own self interests, i.e. “revolving doors” concept in Nestle’s Food Politics, on recycling of the same representatives and food industry power structures in place.
C, a classmate, also argues that, “corporations do not know the needs of the global poor world, especially their health problems” — No, I think they know, they just don’t care enough to put health as the company’s number one priority, because it’s a matter of survival and quality of life for themselves and the company. And since the responsibility can be diverted to government policies, the medical industry, on health insurance policy, and even blame bad parenting and lack of education, (don’t we hear these arguments over and over again ALL the time?) why would the company change their money making ways to care for a society of people that they’ve been repeating the benefits from, and if the company goes under and all of a sudden the companies employees are all laid off, who’s going to protect them?
It’s sadly a fend for yourself world, which makes everyone think — where do i start in trying to change the system? In wanting to make new laws that actually “protect” people’s quality of life instead of protecting their pockets, since quality of life is bought with money in this country (unlike places like France, Canada, and England — i.e. where more ‘Socialist’ systems are in place. I am Canadian, but have lived here for 7 years, sorry if it seems like I’m ‘bashing’ American values, but I’m only offering a personal point of view in critiquing and comparing two vastly different systems with slightly similar cultural values)
Pretty much asking these huge economic hegemonies to take some responsibility is asking them to shell out their cash to change their comfortable lifestyle supported by a corporate system. To change a system that has already been in place for so long that gives them their sense of food security, in order to care for the poor, the poverished, and the under educated is definitely a challenge to say the least.
What i want to know is WHAT DO THESE EMPLOYEES EAT? What do they feed their children at the end of the day? Where do they buy their groceries? Do they consume their own products? If these health problems are highlighted to each individual employee of these corporate companies, made relatable in their terms, will they start caring? or will they just give us the same age old response of self responsibility, that they’ve worked so hard to get to where they’re are now?
– In arguing the other side in class on wed. — for changing the corporate system from within (as i hope someone like Dr. Yach (former World Heath Org President, HAA!) can somehow influence some sort of change in a company like Pepsico, it’s not as black and white as if you’re not for us you’re against us, because that’s binary oppositionary american thinking too — there is lots of GREY — he needs to survive too, and who doesn’t need more money? sure he compromised his integrity…etc.)
I guess I am trying to find optimism in believing that people are trying to re educate and change capitalistic values from within, because how else do we tackle these core values that uphold the whole idea that nobody cares about health and other people when they have to fend for themselves? And when powerful money does all in its power to demoralize and keep you quiet, (ex, sugar industry fighting back to take away WHO funding) is re-educating our young even possible within our lifetime??
How do you make money care about humanity?
How do you make business PERSONAL? — ohhh TABOO…
I believe our generation is learning to fight for Quality of life again, which inherently builds true equality amongst class hiearchies — it’s cultural revolution time! Do we start with education to empower choice? Or do we start with policies that limit irresponsible freedom? Or do we make Healthy food FUN?
i leave you with this beatles song “Help! i need someboday…HELP!”
Love your world, take care of you,
on my journey to find “self sustainability” (thanks evan!) not only with survival, but with integrity, a lifetime of risky business, through food, and lotsa lotsa love.
xoxox
-JLo
