Food for Thought
These days it often feels like there’s little to differentiate one day from the next. Like many, I spend most of my time working from home, eating at home, cleaning my home, and taking walks near my home. During this time of monotony, however, I’ve rediscovered one tradition to break up my routine: a trip to the nearby Sunday farmers’ market.
I used to frequent farmers’ markets all the time. They marked a special part of my week whether I was living in Los Angeles, or New York, or Berkeley. As life got more hectic, however, excursions to the market became more of a special occasion than a weekly ritual. I no longer planned my schedule, or my meals, around them.
Life, of course, has slowed down during the pandemic. And as it has, I’ve once again found myself eagerly awaiting the weekly trip to the market and the bounty I find there, from juicy nectarines, to crisp cucumbers, to giant watermelons. Of course, the experience isn’t quite the same as it once was: faces are covered, live musicians are notably absent, and physically distanced lines snake around the stands. Also, the steep toll of the pandemic on farmworkers, and our failure to protect them, is never far from my mind.
But the pleasure of connecting briefly with the people producing my food, and of savoring the produce I bring home, are heightened during this unusual time, and for that I am thankful. I’m thankful, too, that the Journal continues to shed light on the many problems with our industrial food system and highlight the work of those who are trying to change it.
Zoe Loftus-Farren
Managing Editor, Earth Island Journal
|
