Civility: Fascinating times, to say the least, as the election dust settles. Whatever your views, however you voted, change is underway for all of us. The soul searching of various groups seems a positive sign, and there is hope—if we apply ourselves—that we can settle into a more reflective and meaningful conversation of how we best move forward. Fundamental differences in viewpoints abound, but if we look carefully, we might just find that we are far more alike than not in the broad strokes of what we want now and for the future of our children and the planet. Recognizing those similarities is a critical step toward having a much greater tone of civility in these conversations, which will take a determined effort on all sides, but well worth the effort.
Civil Society: A news commentator recently brought up the role, in our effort to move forward, of civil society—a term which often refers to actions of society other than those of government or business. Many people are frustrated by the ineffectiveness of Congress—largely due to politicians’ self interest and the inordinate influence of money from corporations and wealthy donors—to bring about the reforms and improvements that they want. So, not to abandon federal policy in any way, it seems that we should also look to civil society—the general public, nonprofits, neighborhood groups, and the like—to help bring about needed changes. We would be wise to enlist the aid of local governments in this work since they often can be so much more responsive to the local public than more distant seats of power.
Local Food as Common Ground: What better task for civil society than growing, buying, sharing, and eating healthy local food. The rural-urban, red-blue, coastal-heartland divides seem to touch nearly all aspects of our lives lately. Yet, just as persistent vestiges of dining room manners and proper digestion both call for a measure of civility in conversations over food, conversations about local food can readily tap into our shared values. Everyone has an interest in access to good food and a stake in a productive and healthy food system for our children and our collective future on this planet. Within agriculture, producers often differ with one another and with consumers over ways of growing food, but our experience in community planning sessions over the years has been that focusing on local food is one of the very best ways to start a productive and civil discussion.
Setting a Green Table: Our Setting a Green Table blueprint for local food systems is based on the wild idea that local food efforts can bring people together in striving for a healthy, resilient, sustainable future. We use the “green table” metaphor for the obvious sustainability focus of our work, and for us here in Southwest Colorado to highlight the impressive ancient farming heritage of our own Mesa Verde region (Spanish for green table) and those people’s own struggles with sustainability.
Economic sustainability is furthered by local food keeping money circulating within the community with fair prices for growers. Having access to affordable local and healthy food for all community members starts to address social sustainability. Environmental sustainability looks toward a future with healthy local foodsheds with rich biodiversity and a reasonable climate. As we look to the future, perhaps we can set such a “green table” by enjoying healthy local food, with everyone welcome at the table, and giving thanks for what we have while looking beyond ourselves to the needs of others, the planet, and our future—with civil and friendly conversation about the work ahead. As Alice Waters would likely say, this is a most delicious way to solve some of our biggest problems!
Leave a Reply