Passover, Collective Action & Food Sovereignty

cross-posted on JCarrot

Passover used to be the only time that many of us focused so closely on the ingredients and labelling of products we purchase and consume. Growing consciousness of our culinary footprint has made this an almost daily occurence for many; as other posters have outlined, these choices can make shopping and eating very stressful, especially on Passover, when our choices are more limited.

I’ve failed at the ultimate food-labelling challenge, my attempts to find any Kosher for Passover certified Fair Trade items, for a Seder or the rest of the Chag. Equal Exchange suggests Fair Trade chocolate for the Seder Plate, but these items are not Passover-hechshered, a concern for some. At a Labor Seder I organized in college a couple years ago, held after Passover had ended, we substituted 4 cups of Fair Trade coffee for the 4 cups of wine (yes, I know this seems antithetical to the themes of “reclining” and freedom that are important to the Seder experience), and I’ve always thought that current struggles for Food Sovereignty should be at the forefront of our remembering our experience as slaves and our going forth from Egypt to freedom.

Which is why I was super-excited that the FOOD student group at my school pulled off our 2nd annual symposium yesterday: “Power in the Global Food System: Mapping Food Production and Food Sovereignty in the 21st Century.” One panel focused on “Food Sovereignty,” a term coined by the Via Campesina global farmers’ movement at the 1996 World Food Summit. Two activists recently returned from the World Forum for Food Sovereignty in Nyeleni, Mali presented a promising picture of global alliances formed at the forum to promote several goals including:

the RIGHT of peoples, communities, and countries to define their own agricultural, labor, fishing, food and land policies which are ecologically, socially, economically and culturally appropriate to their unique circumstances. It includes the true right to food and to produce food, which means that all people have the right to safe, nutritious and culturally appropriate food and to food-producing resources and the ability to sustain themselves and their societies.

While some of the speakers at the sympsium focused on the role that consumers have to reform the food system where legal and international trade venues are failing, the Keynote address by Marge Kilkelly, and other remarks, were a welcome reminder that it is important to set a balance between individual consumer responsibility and the power we have for collective political action through democratic government and other channels. While our power as individual consumers is great, it is easy to get caught up in worrying about every single purchase to the extent that it prevents us from devoting time to participation in some of the larger structures of social change, especially where food is involved.

Nigel Savage’s February letter outlining the need for collective action on sustainability issues within the Jewish community struck a chord in emphasizing the need to balance individual and collective action. Although Nachson took the first step of courage in crossing the Red Sea, we imagine that he was guided by the confidence that his people stood behind him collectively. This balance is important to prevent the burn-out that can come from bearing the full burden of the food system’s ills each time one makes a purchase or feeds oneself.

An exciting part of the Symposium was the amazingly 50% local snacks and reception cooked up by a CIA grad at my school. I spent the entire day grumbling about how I couldn’t eat any of the food, only to decide at the last minute to partake in the mesclun, beet and potato dishes at the reception, as it was a unique opportunity. Though I still feel guilty about violating my self-imposed “must be made in Passover-hechshered kitchen” rules, I resigned myself to practicing what I preach about the spirit of the law being sometimes more important than the letter. So, I’m actually quite glad that I stepped out of my comfort zone and struck a balance of engaging with others in the “collective action” of eating locally and making individual consumption decisions.

Film can be a great tool to spur collective action- we closed the symposium last night with a screening of brand-new documentary King Corn, about two twenty-somethings from Boston who road trip to Iowa to grown 1 acre of corn for 1 year. The film’s blend of comedy and catharsis is entertaining and informative. It will be traveling to colleges and with your help, potentially PBS and small theaters around the country- check out King Corn and purchase the film or organize a screening in your city. As folks in the audience suggested last night, King Corn may be the spark to galvanize the social movement to change our industrialized food system and promote food sovereignty.