This article is part of an article series. Check out the earlier parts of this series here, here, here and here.
For this entry, I’d like to list down the many questions to ask each time you pick up an item at the supermarket, or point to a dish on a restaurant menu.
On farm practices. From which farm does your local mart or cafe source its agricultural products? What can they say about said farm’s production practices? Can you visit and will they be proud of what you’ll see? Are they small and family-owned, or are they a huge agricultural complex with mechanized systems (or somewhere in between)? Are their practices disturbing the ecological balance, or can they be seamlessly integrated within the Earth’s cycles to renew itself? Do they observe soil-building principles?
On labels. Like I explained in my previous entry, there are a lot of terms used to refer to supposedly sustainable products, but they can be confusing. For example, while organic cattle should have some access to pasture, but it might not fill all the criteria to be called pasture-raised. Another example: Pasture-raised beef is not always grass-fed, the cow may also have been fed with grains sometimes. Similarly, cattle can be grass-fed but not necessarily in a pasture. So the important question is, what exactly does its label mean? Additionally, who assigned this label? Was it self-proclaimed, or was it, in fact, certified organic, free-range, or pasture-raised?
On the people behind the products. Who picked the eggs to be used for my croque madame? Were they paid the right wages and provided with the benefits they need and deserve? Were they protected from the harms that come with farm work? Or were they exposed to toxic pesticides? If I pay for this item, how much of my money will actually go to them? Or will the profits simply end up in the pockets of a multinational corporation’s executives?
On the plants and animals. Were they treated with respect? In what conditions were they raised? Were they not crammed together in tight spaces all the time? Were they injected with chemicals that undermined their own natural body processes? Or can one say that they lived a happy and peaceful life? As for fruits and vegetables, what was used on them as they grew? Was that piece of pear bathed with pesticides for it to land smooth and spot-free on your hands?
I hope that this series about my journey towards ethical eating has inspired you to ask questions, to know more about how diet affects our bodies, our fellow living creatures, and our planet.
This is a guest blog post by Richard A Kimball. To learn more about him, check out his profiles here and here.
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