Ignorance is bliss. Believing that I am doing the most good by eating a plant based diet was a form of ignorance that can’t be undone now that I’ve taken this course. Even food decisions made in good faith have consequences that are hidden along the journey to our plates. From the child labor we witnessed in week 3 to bring us chocolate to the gross mismanagement of water leaving an entire country in peril, this course has highlighted the many ways that I just do not know the world.
I wonder if I can enjoy my food the same way I did a few weeks ago. I wonder if what I am consuming will taste like it did before…perhaps it will taste more decadent as I have an idea of its path to my plate? Maybe I will feel guilt because I might have made other choices that were local, organic or less water consuming. Perhaps, like commonly happens, I will become desensitized since it won’t be at the forefront of my mind any longer. I truly hope that is not the case.
What I did truly take away from this course is how nuanced and confusing the food and water industry can be. We are all a little bit to blame. But as individuals, we expected to hold the lion’s share of blame. Without large political shifts and a true desire to do what’s best for the public, we will stay in this holding pattern of one step forward and three steps back.