A few months ago I watched Food, Inc. and vowed to start paying more attention to the food we eat. Just like I did a year or so ago when I watched Fast Food Nation. Or the year before that when a friend from book group went on a rant about The Omnivore's Dilemma. It always sounds good in the moment and of course makes sense--why would you NOT want to support local farmers, penalize horrible business practices by Big Food by not spending your money on their products, and just eat in the healthiest way possible? And why would you not want to provide the best food for your kids?
Ostensibly of course you would--who wouldn't? I do--in theory. And sometimes in practice. But I admit cooking/meal planning/grocery shopping is not my strongest skill set. I'm the kind of person who writes out a grocery list, goes into the store with the list in hand, then emerges an hour later having spent $100 and forgotten half the stuff on the list. I'm also the kind of person who hates packing lunches and most days just eats a Balance bar for lunch at my desk because I don't feel like stopping what I'm doing to go get lunch. Food is not a top priority for me.
For many women, food is top priority, and I envy them. Of course, though, like every other thing on the planet, food has to be one of the measures of your success as a mother and a person. If you're not willing to spend three times as much on organic produce and local grass-fed beef, you're a bad mom and a bad person. If you're not willing to cook everything from scratch and pack it in re-usable containers and instead use disposable plastic bags, you're a bad mom and a bad person. Here's an example of the ire you incur if you do something as innocent-seeming as feed your kid Lunchables. You are a planet-killer, a child abuser and certainly a shitty mom. Make sure to read the comments on that post to get the full impact of your crappiness as a person if you feed your kid Lunchables.
I personally like the message in this blog post:
I would further argue that a woman must have convenient food preparation options in order to be truly independent. The relative convenience of our grocery system has been an invaluable partner in the quest for equality and choice. The fact that a woman can create a meal to feed her family with a package of pasta and a jar of ready-made sauce is part of the reason why that same woman can pursue a full-time career of her choosing.Cop out or does the author have a point?
