Food Day stresses importance of wise consumption
Food Day celebrates real, whole and sustainable food.
USU students developed the theme for this national event to raise awareness and heighten education about different foods and where they come from, said Tamara Steinitz, clinical associate professor of dietetics.
Multiple USU groups set up informative displays Monday in The Hub, on the lower level of the Taggart Student Center. In the afternoon USU alumna Ann Vileisis gave a speech. Vileisis authored the book “Kitchen Literacy.”
“It’s hard to get excited about another awareness day,” undeclared freshman Logan Brown, said. “Sept. 21 is National School Backpack Day. Food Day is the same day as United Nations Day. It seems like every other day is National Rape Awareness Day with all of the displays and projects SAAVI keeps putting on. So at first I was reluctant to check out the displays at Food Day.”
Exploring the topics at Food Day was well worth it, though, he said.
Information tables covered a variety of topics, from organic farming to cooking tips. Some tables had free samples of locally grown squash and Aggie cheese. One table had statistics about hunger in the United States and Utah, highlighting problems with food and society today. A professor at another table discussed sustainable seafood.
Everybody who eats food should care about these issues, said Robert Schmidt, manager of the sustainable seafood booth and USU professor. Sustainable food sources — food sources that are productive over a long period of time — are key to the future of both health and the environment, he said.
Learning to identify what foods are healthy and good for the earth and the economy is crucial to everyone, Schmidt said. The problem is, he added, most students have a disconnect with their food.
“I had an exercise where students were supposed to find out where all the food in a given meal they were eating came from, and they couldn’t do it,” English and history Professor Steve Siporin said. “Many of the food companies and restaurants couldn’t tell them where all of the ingredients in their foods originated.”
The disconnect people have with food is a problem, Steinitz said. Because people know so little about where food comes from and how to prepare it, they cannot make healthy meals for themselves, make the most of their grocery budget or even make informed decisions about food labled “natural,” “fresh,” or “organic,” he said.
Vileisis, whose speech was broadcasted across Utah, focused on the history of food and where he believes the disconnect stems from.
“A few years ago, after hearing many reports about the problems with today’s agricultural methods, I began to question where my food came from,” Vileisis said. “I walked into a supermarket and was greeted by Tony the Tiger, Betty Crocker and Aunt Jemima in their gleaming packages, and I realized I knew none of their stories. As stewards of our land and our bodies, we can’t keep looking the other way when it comes to food production.”
Vileisis traced the history from the early 19th century to the present, as the distance between farms and kitchens grew.
“Foods frequently come from 3000-5000 miles away,” Vileisis said. “Four hundred gallons of crude oil are used to transport the food the average American eats in one year.”
The current massive agribusiness giants have driven small family farms out of business, and the enormous feedlots created by these corporations are the biggest water polluters in America, Vileisis said.
“We need to get rid of the naivety, and we especially need to get rid of the ‘I don’t want to know’ and the ‘I don’t care’ attitude,” she said. “We need to direct consumer attention back to farms. Knowing the whole story behind food is healthier for the environment and healthier for people.”
Average citizens need to start taking action, such as buying grass-fed beef, buying produce at farmers’ markets and growing their own gardens when possible, Vileisis said. They also need to encourage policymakers and farmers to make wiser decisions, such as reducing subsidies to large farm corporations and decreasing the use of pesticides.
“If we start moving in the right direction, it will help to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels,” Vileisis said. “Also, home-grown vegetables are more delicious, and if we can ignite interest in young people, it will ensure healthiness. All of this is crucial in our age of obesity.”
A lot of students know there are problems with food and the way it is produced and sold, but don’t know what to do about it, Steinitz said. The goal of Food Day and the speech was to bridge that gap, she said, and small choices go a long way.
“Food since the beginning of history has food has been a way people have connected to the earth,” Vileisis said.
People used to trust and beseech the land, Vileisis said. They ate what they raised and had a connection with their bread.
“Starting a vegetable garden for yourself is one of the most rewarding things you will ever try,” she said.
– evan.millsap@aggiemail.usu.edu