French Lessons

Last night I watched an obscure documentary titled Food Beware: The French Organic Movement. Contrary to the expansive-sounding title however, the film essentially chronicled the efforts of one small town (Barjac) to transition into an organic lifestyle. The focus was largely on a private elementary school in which the new organic menu was test-driven by youthful palates. The children also received hands-on education in the garden and even learned songs rife with environmental lyrics. Oh, and it's a Catholic school. Oftentimes those themes don't jive, but in Barjac they coexist perfectly. Anyways, I was truly struck by the progressive education these students were receiving. And especially what the cafeteria was serving; even before the shift. The school employs real chefs in their kitchen to prepare the foods and supervise the eating habits of the children. They already offered a wonderful variety of vegetables, pasta, bread, fruit and yogurt. With the shift to local and organic, the options only improved (no more troublesome pesticides or additives). This easily puts France at least two steps ahead of the U.S. Before the States can even begin to worry about pesticides, they have to get kids to even eat fruits and vegetables. Hell, when I was that age, I had no idea what lentils or radishes were. The point is, America really needs to pick up the pace.

Admittedly though, there are any number of disparaging critiques one could make of this film (i.e. The residents are clearly affluent and their children are privileged; they have access to great agricultural resources; they're French). Still, the main message I got out it was that even in a perfectly picturesque town such Barjac, nestled in the scenic foothills, the horrors of industrialized agriculture still lurk. The film dealt heavily with the detrimental effects of pesticides on farmworkers and their families. An ungodly number of chemicals is sprayed on the vast majority of French crops. The Iowa corn belt isn't the only place that has pesticide issues. Child leukemia has skyrocketed in the region among other various inexplicable ailments. There's no denying that the community is suffering as a result of conventional practices when farmers get nosebleeds while mixing the day's pesticide concoction.

Some might find this documentary a little less than thrilling, but I really thought it had some important insights to offer, and Barjac is wonderfully progressive example for our small communities to follow. The mayor was a charmingly idealistic fellow who wasn't afraid of face-to-face communication with the people. He brought together individuals on both sides of the issues for discussion. Many of their differences melted away once they actual sat and spoke to one another. Certainly heartening to see.

But ultimately I just want people to keep in mind that even the most privileged among us suffer, but that we can make great progress collectively.

Also, the movie is available through Netflix Instant-Watch if you're curious.

Requisite Reading

This sums up much of what I'd like to see happen on a local scale. We need to expand our understanding of our roles as members of human ecological systems. Single-mindedness is the enemy.


Completely unrelatedly; Autopsy.

Cultivating Creative, Climate-Sensitive Communities

The fight against climate change can be most effectively waged at the community level. That's where the creative solutions and unique ideas are forged. It's through that initial interaction of closely-tied individuals that will produce results. These can then be tempered by the state and federal governments in the form of policy and so forth. Amendments to transportation, food access/distribution and overall material consumption are best negotiated by those who live and breathe in those unique locales. There are strengths and weaknesses in each of these communities that must be taken into consideration and exploited for the best possible ends. Not only that, but a certain emotional stake is necessary in the proceedings at hand, lest we collectively fall into the overwhelmed apathy of the issue's vastness. When the movement truly has that community heart, then we can have faith in its progress and endurance.

Here are a few examples of creative community projects I've come across:

- Harvesting fruit locally from untended and overhanging trees, and then distributing it to the underprivileged.
- Ripping up pavement in vacant spaces to make space for greenery (and also absorbing run-off).
- Creating distinctive bike lanes/paths or designating pedestrian-only zones.
- Community garden plots. Especially geared towards the underprivileged and those residing in 'food deserts'.
- Farmer's markets and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)
- Hands-on agricultural education for children.
- Urban farming operations.
- Good old fashioned rallies and protests (a la 70's)
- Meeting local farmers personally or through social media.
- Directly connecting chefs with farmers.

The Agrarian Left

In case you haven't caught on, there's an odd paradox within the alternative food movement. It resides in the appropriation of agrarian morality as a progressive doctrine. The issue becomes one of liberalizing fundamentally conservative values and making them digestible for chic urbanites. For example, the agrarian model often entails strict gender roles accompanied by religious piety and patriarchal societal structures. Thus the alternative food movement, largely guided by the Left, is charged with wresting these anachronisms from their traditional respect and care for the land. Yet in some ways these barriers only exist if one acknowledges them. There is certainly potential for unconscious blending of themes. The two sides may be more easily allied if they don't conceive of themselves as cultural enemies. I think this paradox may be overcome once we cease to pigeonhole ourselves in either one camp or the other. Just some thoughts.

O.G. Hardcore

Let's talk a little bit about hardcore. Not the music genre per se, but rather the adjective itself. Breaking the word into its constituent parts, we find both 'hard' and 'core'. What exactly does their combination imply? Could it be physical toughness, emotional resilience, mental perseverance; or perhaps some combination thereof? I think no matter which characteristics we choose, our forebears far outperform even the most diehard Hatebreed fanatic. Man today is soft. In the developed world at least. He is largely catered to and cared for. Clearly this is not universally true, but the assumption is sufficient enough for my purposes.

Hardcore today is predominantly just a fun game we like to play before returning to the comfort of our cozy beds. Fans of hardcore may not back down from fights or any number of other 'hardcore' activities, but I find such machinations hardly admirable. Imagine instead the fortitude required to scrape out an existence for you and your family amongst the unforgiving wilderness. That was a true test of both body and mind. Granted, however, there are perhaps millions of people struggling to eek a living within our harsh concrete jungles. Which therefore qualifies them by my proposed standards. Yet I hardly think these individuals ascribe to the tenets of hardcore music, which is the issue I mean to take here. I'm really only writing this because the attitudes of genre largely strike me as an act.

My personal vision of hardcore is responsible self-reliance in the face of adversity, not the knuckleheaded stubbornness and war-mongering that lyrics tend to advocate. Homesteading, hunting, fishing, foraging, carpentry, etc. That shit is truly hardcore. No puffy jackets, posses, or flat-brimmed hats allowed. The pre-industrial man was hardcore. Nowadays the concept revolves mostly around misguided attitudes towards conflict and property lines. Despite the fact that it all takes place within the warm embrace of modern society. The music can surely make you feel invincible for its duration, but it's necessary to recognize the fragility of that illusion.

John Muir and his ilk truly represent American hardcore. Just a knapsack, boots, and a steady heart.

As much as I love hardcore music, its cultural baggage has always sort of bothered me. Adherents just takes themselves a little too seriously sometimes. Often without having earned that level of respect. That's all. I can dig the empowerment, self-affirmation and bids for social change however.

Below is the demographic I'm mostly detracting from in this post:

Everyone Should Listen To

Mammifer.

Spring Training

I've decided upon a new pastime. Go to some beautiful, idyllic locale, run or hike a ridiculous number of miles, then gorge myself on delicious artisanal foods. This is already the basic outline of my previous day hikes out in the Marin Headlands area, but I want to make such trips more frequent and more extreme. Consider it hardcore tourism. It also serves as training for my new goal of running a half marathon this coming summer. While there's certainly something to be said for taking leisurely hikes, eyes to the undergrowth, observing all the details, these runs will provide a more macroscopic view of the areas. Which I think may be equally easy to miss at times. It's not a big deal though, I can simply alternate between activities. Even so, many of these trips will have to wait until the academic year is through since Walla Walla doesn't exactly cater to such outings. There is still potential though. I did locate some Pt. Reyes Cowgirl Creamery cheese in a shop downtown today. Hooray foodie culture. Anyways, that's what I plan to do with my spring. Run. And then eat the best food that I can, keeping it as local and authentic as possible.

Get some.

Sunny Days Ahead

Now that we've had a sufficient number of apocalypse-related posts, I think it's time to celebrate the fact that spring is finally here! Take heart friend, there are sunny days ahead. That means new life, renewal, entire days spent outdoors with friends. All those lovely connotations. Spring is when mother nature makes her greatest showing. The landscape is suddenly splashed with color, bathed in golden light. Birds flit between trees wreathed in flowers. I'll cut the poorly crafted imagery already though. What I really want to say is that we should take a moment to recognize the awesome power that nature wields, bastardized as it may be by the intervention of civilization. It still thrives despite our persistent attempts to subdue or possess it. Nature will outlive us. While this is by no means a justification for mindless resource consumption, it should come across as slightly comforting. Sit and be humbled by springs regenerative capacity.

Now that we've been humbled, get out there and make the most of spring! Enjoy the delicious fresh fruits, vegetables and flowers that are currently poking their way through buds, husks, soil, meristems, etc. I don't think there's an excuse not to live a healthy, happy, active life when it's 70 degrees and sunny out. So yeah. That's how I feel. Optimistic. I'm looking forward to friends, family, food and fun in the coming months. Spring is the perfect time to reflect upon and live in the harmony of nature. We're all part of the same system after all. We are by no means separated from the world around us. Enjoy it.