Local Foods, Movie Night, Potlucks, and Michael Pollan
Who’s getting my money? This is one of the questions I keep asking myself when it comes to entertainment, education, and food. Am I supporting outfits that have social, ecological, and health values in mind, or is my money going to multi national corporations who could give a rat’s arse about people, places, and culture? I do realize that cheap, easy, and convenient is often a rescue when our lives are overly busy. However, when the health and wellness of the future is on the line, I need to tighten up my resolve and focus on what is the most important for my children.
After reading In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan for our high school non fiction standards, the students and I decided to have a local foods movie night/potluck and view the documentary based on the book, also called In Defense of Food. First I need to define the term ‘potluck’ as there seems to be some confusion over this word. It comes from North America meaning a meal or party to which each of the guests contributes a dish. The potluck was well attended. The local foods spread on the table consisted of salmon (mainly Reds dressed nicely and one King full of Omega 3 fatty acids), all you can eat Rutabagas, Beluga, pickled Pike, home made cranberry jam, local raised Pork kabobs that didn’t even last before we started, and asaliaks that were heard to contain flour from the Tanana Valley.
Food is, or ought to be, about relationships. So too for education. Its always best when it’s local and you know the source and the stories that go along with it, and you find your part to play in it. Having context with your food and education as opposed to having it piped in from places like New Jersey is fulfilling. It should be dynamic not linear. If you’ve had a hand in the harvest or process it is especially empowering. Whether it be the moose on Kaskanak, the net choked with fish, pigs overturning tundra for future gardens and freezers, foraging for berries and fiddleheads, the maniaq on the beach, spotting a sea gull egg, or the jolt of the jigging stick through the ice; food (and this is all education as well) brings us together, food gives us the opportunity to share. Food self-sufficiency is a real power that makes us creators as opposed to just numb consumers. When it is local and whole, the gold standard of health and wellness shines through.
