I have written before about one of the overarching themes for my trip being exploring social change – in particular the role that food has in creating it. But when I tell people about this I am often met with a bit of a blank stare. It soon became apparent that my use of the term “social change” was in a sense, jargon - accessible only to people who were already involved in the movement for it. So with apologies, let me back up and expand on what it is I mean when i say “social change” and how this might relate to food.

The words “social change” obviously evoke a vast array of interpretations and indeed social change can be many things. At its core, it is simply societies (a group of people) changing. While change can obviously be taken in a variety of directions, the way I, and most others who use it in the context of societies changing, see it is as a shift towarads a “better world”.  Once again, a subjective term equally open to interpretation. (and kind of cliché) hmm…

The better world I hope for is one that puts community over the individual, long term sustainability over in-the-moment exploitation, and peace over war (at all scales, from the international to the internal).

I am currently reading Wendel Berry’s flagship 1977 novel, “The Unsettling of America” which describes how the current agricultural crisis is a crisis of character, agriculture, and culture. Sadly, he has yet to be proven wrong and his words remain poignant today.

In the first chapter, he frames the need for societal change succinctly. He describes two divergent states of mind that have shaped the two opposing trajectories of people both in history and today - the exploiter and the nurturer.

A model exploiter might be a strip miner – a specialist, expert, a master of efficiency, with a goal of maoney, profit and productivity. A model nurturer, on the other hand, might be a farmer – a generalist, a master of care, with a goal of sustainability and health (of the land, his own body, his farm, his community, his country, etc.). While the exploiter tends to serve and institution or organization, the nurturer serves land, household, community, and place.

We all hold elements of both within us – after all, the world we know today is shaped by the long time struggle between the two. Take one look around though and it is clear which of the two camps is dominant: war, anger, individualism, speed, efficiency, pollution, and destruction obviously have the upper hand in our society.

I am aligned with many social movements of the past in wanting to reverse this trend and restore “nurture”, and the values and attitudes that come with such a shift.

How does this relate to food?

Food is a natural starting place. If social change starts with changing people, what better theme to unite us than something everyone can relate to? FOOD.

We all eat it. We all need it. We congregate in kitchens, use it as a means of celebration. It brings us together in so many ways. And unlike so many other social or political movements which seem to draw on the very war-like mentality that got us here, the food movement is rooted in cooperation, unity, and celebration.

To me, social change is not about changing each other. It’s first and foremost about changing ourselves: living the values we espouse and being a source of inspiration for others to do the same. At the same time as changing oneself, however, it is also important to work towards change at a larger level than the individual. After all, moving out to the country, growing all your own food, and living off the grid has its limits when it comes to creating a societal shift.

But there is a careful balance that needs to be observed here: No one has ever really changed based on the opinion of someone else being imposed upon them. No one likes being told how to live. So yes, change yourself, but be careful how you communicate your vision to others. Last time someone laid a guilt trip into me for eating meat, listing off the reasons to go vegetarian, I wanted to run. Not because I didn’t want to hear about the environmental toll of meat production (I clearly already knew this – I was a vegetarian for seven years) but because I just wasn’t having a good time being subjected to this guy’s aggressive monologue. After that, I could easily see how many passionate activists burn their bridges by perpetuating the very colonial, authoritative patterns they seek to dismantle.

The veracity of a supposed social changer can therefore be measured with this rule – To what degree are you changing yourself before telling others to change, or before you tell others you have changed? I mean less so in terms of how little garbage you produce, or how local your diet is, but more in the attitudes and approaches you take in your life both with yourself and with others. Inclusiveness, acceptance, understanding, and love….aren’t these the true expressions of social change?

Speaking of acceptance, it is important to understand that living entirely in the world of “nurturer” is a tall order: there is a perpetual dance going on between exploitation and nurture – in the world and in ourselves.  Trying to be purely ‘good’ can cause extreme frustration and anguish. The path to purity is, after all, full of judgement… of others, of ourselves. And it veers away from the adaptability and empathy so central to the world we so desperately need.

Ultimately, the lesson in creating social change lies with people: changing ourselves (our attitudes and our actions), connecting with each other, and building up trust so we can create real, lasting change.

What kind of world do you want?

How can you live accordingly?

What will you change in yourself today?