Throughstone #2: Foodshed as New Democracy?

I don’t know of a more powerful democratic concept than a foodshed. Granted, few things can make or break a ruler faster than food prices and availability–nothing matters more to the ordinary human than food and water. However, holding the levers on food prices and access doesn’t necessarily require the use of any democratic principles, whereas resilient foodsheds don’t exist without putting the principles of democratic engagement to work. 

The foodshed concept was introduced in 1929 as a parallel to the fairly new concept of watersheds–a way to describe the ebb, flow, and channeling of food within a specific area, particularly cities. However, the corollary began to weaken when it came to delineating the boundaries of a foodshed. Food system boundaries are porous, and the systems aren’t driven by topography and gravity. 

Nonetheless, the concept of foodsheds survived because the democratic nature of reenvisioning the food future of a local community or a region always seems to make sense.  “Foodshed” becomes more a term of intent, process, and planning–ultimately a collaborative exercise of simultaneously declaring food system independence and interdependence. Instead of relying upon geography as the primary tool for circumscribing foodsheds, it seems wiser to define a foodshed as the periphery of our collective influence to efficiently and effectively create positive change within our food systems.     

Unfortunately, our non-leaders have decided that food belongs in an ideological arsenal rather than a democratic toolbox. In doing so, they have chosen their own demise, while reinforcing the need for resilient foodsheds. 

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“Throughstone 250” is a purposefully constrained blog project. As a long-winded Southerner constrained by Vermont’s limited porch season and the Yankee penchant for paragraphs of three words or less, I’ve opted to aim for semi-daily reflections of precisely 250 words for the foreseeable future.

250 means something right now. Maybe more than we anticipated. It’s symbolic but incredibly important…and a 250 word count seems much less constrained than a 5-7-5 syllable count for a haiku. 

Like many others, I’m struggling to make meaning out of these tumultuous days. I’ve always found it useful to try and write my way out of tough spots. Looking for throughstones is just one more effort to try and generate some meaning from the mayhem.

More free-ranging rambles here, if you’re so inclined: www.freerangeprof.com