Thursday, October 1, 2015

The Privilege of Choice

I was watching a documentary the other day about food and health, naturally, and while the documentary was illuminating and insightful, the lingering thought I have walked away with is, "Wow, I am privileged."

No, this is not going to be a post about how privileged I am in a "rub-it-in-your-face" sort of a way, but in a the sense that I, we are lucky. Stay with me, for a minute.....

Each year I attend the Camden International Film Festival. It is a phenomenal, small town, here in Maine, documentary film festival with films on a wide variety of topics from film makers all over the world. It is an expansive, emotional, heartfelt and a heartbreaking weekend. Where I learn so much and am exposed to so much in such a condensed time frame, that as soon as the festival is over, my butt is aching, my sciatica is screaming at me from all the sitting, I am exhausted and have gas from all the sitting and irregular eating times – all I can think is I can't wait for next year!! #CamdenIFF2016!! But again, the lingering thought I'm having this year, is "Wow, I am lucky. Wow, I am privileged."



This most recent documentary, Way Beyond Weight, which I watched curled up on my couch with my puppies, eating some delicious, now-forgotten, gluten free treat, was about obesity in children around the world, with a primary focus on South American children. So clearly there is privilege there, due to the socioeconomic difference of them and I, but that is not the privilege I am talking about. 



The privilege I noticed is around choice.

I, we, are privileged because we have a choice. We have the resources and financial capacity to have a choice in what we eat. That alone makes use privileged. The fact that we can have conversations about having a gluten intolerance, or preferring to buy organic whenever possible, or farm fresh eggs and free range, grass-fed meat....Holy crap! We are lucky!!

The fact that these are our conversations, that I have the privilege of writing a blog about food in this way, period dot makes me privileged. The fact that you are reading my blog because you too have a gluten or diary intolerance, or are just interested in learning more about food, makes you privileged in this sense. The fact that there is choice rather than eating only what is available to me is what struck me. So many of the children in the documentary didn't have a choice, because their parents didn't have a choice, due to lack of resources and money and wherewithal. These people were eating what was cheap and what tastes good, which food chemists have nailed down to science. These people are addicted to the sugar and fat and sodium and gluten in the cheap packaged foods that are widely available to them in their remote areas, because fresh vegetables and fruits don't travel well, are expensive and don't last long. They have no choice.

It broke my heart to watch these people suffer with billion dollar backed food scientists tricking their very human instinct to need sugar, fat and salt. And they don't have any external references to learn differently or know more. They barely knew what a carbohydrate was. And food labels with more "healthy" terminology actually were believed to be healthier for them. My heart sank.

So back to my sense of privilege or luck or wherewithal, or whatever you want to call it, the fact that us, as Americans, or maybe not even the typical American, but those of use who consciously choice what we eat, the quality, quantity, the source; the fact that we can reject something because of a food allergy is privileged. 

We are darn lucky to know what we know and have the resources to make these decisions. I am by no means trying to draw a line between "them and us" but there is a line created by government and food conglomerates that are preying on the underprivileged and poor around the world. 

My strong will is no better than any of the children in the documentary when it comes to eating potato chips or candy or soda, I am made of the same DNA. My body when given copious amounts of sugar, fat and salt, only wants more. It is designed that way people! It has nothing to do with strong will, that is a losing battle that food science is banking on, and actually it is down right unfair!

So those of us who know the difference, who have a choice, who make conscious buying choices, it is our responsibility to help others understand the battle we are all up against. Regardless of socioeconomic standing, with these billion dollar food science conglomerates intentionally fooling us and feeding our inner cravings that easily turn into monsters, even for the strongest willed of us. It is science and DNA and their bottom line is money and we are the sufferers.

So if you are like me, you are privileged to have a choice and subsequently make such choices, continue to do so! Each of us can be our strongest by consciously choosing where we spend our dollar. But also when given the chance to educate, it is our duty to have a better, healthier human race that is not being fooled and ultimately killed by these perpetual toxins in these packaged foods that are deigned to taste that good.