Meeting Your Food

by Dr. Talia Marcheggiani, ND | Jun 30, 2021 | Cooking, Food, Health, Naturopathic Philosophy, Naturopathic Principles, Nutrition

It’s mulberry season, which means while walking through my neighbourhood I can snack, picking food right off the trees growing behind fences or on people’s front lawns whenever I walk by a berry-stained sidewalk.

There’s something therapeutic about entering into the flow state of berry-eating from a tree (or a bush? they’re massive bushes. The act of eating becomes a ritual. It demands presence and attention. It becomes like a game, the objective is looking for rich colour, ripeness, size, and strategizing how to access the delicious, prized morsel you’ve laid your eyes on, then savouring the experience of having attained it, before beginning the process again.

It’s impossible to binge-eat this way.

I remember at my friend’s cottage last Septemeber it was blueberry season and we spent the weekend casually hanging out in the middle of blueberry patches. I would find an abundant bush, settle down in the midst of it and graze. I must have eaten 5 cups of blueberries each day and yet it took me the entire day to do it.

What better way to spend a day?

The best part of it was: I met my food.

I was listening to Paul Saladino of the Fundamental Health Podcast interview Daniel Vitalis from the Rewilding Podcast. The subject came up about foraging, and hunting and meeting your food.

“Some people have never seen a bass,” Daniel Vitalis commented.

“Maybe not in the wild, maybe not in a zoo. They don’t know how big it is, what colour it is, what kind of lakes it lives in, what it looks like.

“And, more importantly, even if someone fishes for bass or knows what they look like, if they eat bass in a restaurant or from a frozen filet they’ve bought at the grocery store, they most likely haven’t met that bass.

“There’s a massive disconnect in our society between us and the food we eat.”

In almost every other culture we would have shared an intimate relationship with food.

When I was eating blueberries I took the time to settle down in a patch of bushes and linger. The act of eating was immersed in a ritualistic past-time. I was connecting with the specific plant whose food I was borrowing. I was visiting her home–her environment.

When you fish for bass, or hunt a deer, you enter that animal’s setting. You meet it alive. You witness it living. You witness it dying.

The animal’s fate intertwines with yours.

Your survival and his become like a seesaw. Yesterday it was your turn. Today it’s mine.

I suppose the fish filet’s fate is also intertwined with yours: he may have been destined to end up in the freezer section of the local Costco, but somehow… it seems radically different, largely impersonal. Colder.

This is why we obsess over food sometimes: where was the bass made? Was it caught or farmed? Is it organic? Where was it processed? Eating animals is wrong—I’m going to go vegan. And so on.

This contemplation of the life and fate of our food often brings us to the practicalities of food preservation. The reality of ensuring that the meat we consume maintains its quality and freshness involves investing in a suitable freezer.

As we strive to make informed choices about where our food comes from, the quality of the freezer we use becomes integral to preserving that food’s integrity.

A freezer with reliable temperature control and sufficient capacity allows us to store our ingredients with the respect they deserve, from freshly caught bass to carefully sourced organic produce.

When shopping for a freezer, it’s essential to explore options that cater to both your culinary needs and ethical considerations. A huge range of freezers is available, designed to accommodate various storage requirements and preferences. By selecting the right freezer, you can ensure that every item you preserve—whether from local sources or international suppliers—is kept in the best possible condition.

I believe that this neurosis becomes our remedy for disconnect, for the disembodiment we experience. Eating becomes an intellectual task. We need to read labels, visit websites, and do research, rather than just experiencing our food first in its living form, before engaging in the eating of it.

Hunter gatherers don’t read labels. They don’t diet.

The Hadza from Tanzania don’t have food rules, restrictions ,or even mental, nutritional concepts about food. That’s a Western thing.

The Hadza, like many other cultures more connected to their food sources, simply possess the raw biological desire to eat whatever and however much they like that they can get, whenever they can get it. They are guided by taste and hunger.

Their lives revolve around hunting and gathering food. They simply immerse themselves in their food environments and eat.

We are also immersed in a food environment: the packaged, fried, doctored foodstuffs packed into grocery stores, fast food restaurants, gas stations, and convenience stores. These foods connect with our hunger cues and communicate with our tastebuds but offer none of the impact of “real” food on our physiology. They don’t nourish us.

They don’t connect us to the natural world. They don’t encourage ritualistic eating. What happened to that wheat sheaf or corn blade for it to become refined flour or hydrogenated oil? Could I participate in the making of it? Or do I lack the chemicals and technology to process this food to make these potato chips, bread, or cookies?

Our food environment encourages our disconnect and this encourages our neurosis around food and nutrition. In order to thrive in this environment we need to think about food. We need to read labels and make choices and abstain from certain foods, and make an effort to change our environment so that it becomes one more conducive to human nourishment.

We need to refuse foods served to us at events, or buy separate groceries, and make separate meals for our partners or children.

We create a food “island” for ourselves, in the midst of our community.

And this becomes impossible.

You are only as healthy as the group and environment you find yourself in.

So what can we do? Perhaps we can start with community. Where do the healthy people shop? Where do you feel most connected to your food? Is it in your garden? Is it visiting a farm? Hunting or buying meat from a hunter, or a farm? Can you meet your meat before you buy it? Can you develop a relationship with those who grow or process your food?

Perhaps it means more at-home food preparation. Visiting more farmer’s markets. Talking with the people selling you your eggs. Perhaps it means developing a connection with a local farm where you source your food. Perhaps it means you pick your apples in season, or you grow your own herbs. Maybe you bake bread with your children, or can your own tomatoes.

Perhaps fostering a deeper connection with your food involves more than just the culinary aspects. It also extends to how your surroundings support your food-related endeavors. A well-maintained garden landscape can enhance your overall experience, turning food preparation into a more enjoyable and immersive process. Landscaping Service can play a crucial role in creating a garden that not only supports your growing needs but also becomes a welcoming space for family and friends. Imagine a backyard where the lush greens of your vegetable beds harmonize with the aesthetic appeal of well-designed garden paths and seating areas.

When envisioning a space that enhances your food-related endeavors, partnering with skilled landscape contractors can make all the difference. South Canyon Construction Inc stands out with its expertise in crafting personalized garden environments that seamlessly merge beauty and functionality. Their team takes the time to understand your unique needs, from designing vibrant vegetable beds to integrating charming garden paths and versatile seating areas. By focusing on both aesthetic appeal and practical use, they ensure that your outdoor space becomes a true extension of your home, ideal for both relaxation and entertaining.

In addition to creating visually pleasing landscapes, their approach emphasizes the importance of a well-thought-out design that supports your growing needs. The result is a backyard that not only enhances the pleasure of food preparation but also serves as a welcoming retreat for family gatherings and social events.

When it comes to crafting exquisite outdoor environments, a skilled landscape designer like Sugar Green Gardens understands that beauty and functionality must go hand in hand. Their high-end landscape designs transcend mere aesthetics; they are meticulously crafted to cultivate spaces that enrich your lifestyle while providing a significant return on investment.

By integrating features such as sustainable planting, efficient irrigation systems, and versatile outdoor living areas, they create environments that can adapt to your evolving needs. The thoughtfully designed landscapes not only elevate the overall appeal of your property but also enhance its value, making it an investment that pays dividends in both enjoyment and financial returns.

Moreover, Sugar Green Gardens emphasizes the importance of using quality materials and innovative design techniques to ensure durability and long-term satisfaction. Their approach focuses on creating seamless transitions between indoor and outdoor spaces, allowing for a natural flow that invites relaxation and fosters connection with nature.

Whether it’s through the incorporation of elegant hardscaping elements, lush plant selections, or personalized features like fire pits and outdoor kitchens, every detail is considered. This commitment to excellence results in landscapes that not only serve as breathtaking backdrops for your gatherings but also significantly boost your property’s market appeal.

Building a deeper connection with our food often involves immersing ourselves in the farming and food production process, which can also influence our approach to sourcing and handling food. As we explore these meaningful connections—whether through local farms, farmer’s markets, or community-supported agriculture—we recognize the importance of having knowledgeable and dedicated individuals in the agribusiness sector.

To support this, agribusiness recruitment plays a crucial role in finding and placing skilled professionals who are passionate about sustainable farming practices and food systems. These professionals bring expertise and innovation to the table, enhancing the quality and sustainability of the food we consume. Whether it’s for roles in farm management, food processing, or agricultural technology, finding the right talent is essential to fostering a resilient and connected food system.

Engaging with recruitment services dedicated to agribusiness can help cultivate a workforce that supports our commitment to healthier and more sustainable food practices.

Maybe you develop your own food and eating rituals and you practice them as a family or as a community.

Maybe you ask some questions about your food–what does this bass look like? How did this cow live?

Food has always been so central to human culture.

When we connect with the rituals of picking, hunting, growing, processing, and consuming our food, we learn what it is to be truly human.

When we meet our food, we meet ourselves.