Paying attention to Food

How often do we pay attention to what is in our mouths as we're eating it?

How often do we pay attention to where our food came from? (I don't mean which store, I mean where it actually came from - which field or barn, how far did it travel, what conditions was it grown in)

A couple weeks ago I was in Florida and experienced a moment of confusion. I was in a large grocery store and noticed that orange juice was exactly the same price there as it was at home in London, Ontario. At first it seemed wrong that I should pay such a high price for a local product, but then I started to wonder if the local price was more reasonable, and my home price was being somehow subsidized....was I not paying for the thousands of miles of transportation (not mention the environmental costs) of having Florida orange juice in wintery London?



Inattentiveness - that quality of life where we are neither present nor paying attention to what's going on right now - is perhaps one of the great illnesses of our culture. Its implications for life are enormous, but what has really struck me lately is how my (our) inattentiveness to food is problematic.

It's not that I don't think about food. I plan, I shop for it, I ingest it. and I talk about it with others. I think it even makes up a little part of who I think I am (I am a good coffee, good pasta, but not brussle sprouts kind of guy). But how often do I actually taste it?  Because my relationship to food has primarily been defined in terms of being a consumer, I really haven't thought much further about it, other than how to optimize my consumption. What else should shape my relationship to food?

I could go on and on, and I probably will in future posts. I know that my inattentiveness has profound implications for the amount of food I waste and the health problems my eating will cause down the road. I'm starting to develop an uncomfortable awareness of the impact on others in the world and future generations because I demand cheap, convenient food. I'm even suspecting that my gluttony is falling far short of the richness I could enjoy interacting with this part of creation. (There's a theology to this, and I'm starting to wonder if my "feasts" are not even really feasts because I'm not even in the moment enough to authentically celebrate or be grateful).

I'm becoming aware that the same brokenness that affects so much of my life, deeply affects my relationship with food as well. I know that it likely reaches far beyond inattentiveness to issues about greed and idolatry....but for now, I just want to begin by paying attention.

I'm going to make a deliberate practice of noticing and thinking and paying attention to my food. When I'm shopping, preparing, eating, storing, and disposing, I want to stop thinking about the million other distractions and quietly reflect on my relationship to food.

Anyone care to join me?