Edible Education 103 Class 2: Social Practice, by Peter Sellars

The second class of Edible Education 103 is presented by the American theatre director Peter Sellars. Certainly a person I had not heard of and seemed an unlikely candidate regarding food policy or agriculture. But then again, the class is described as stories about food, and I suppose he does eat, so he must have a story, and what a story he has.

He does delve a bit off the subject and use guilt ridden imagery to drive home many of the injustices in the world such as slavery. He equates the “elastic in my underwear, the closest thing to my body” as an embodiment of the slaves in Asia or Honduras that sew them together. That they are a product of mass murder and genocide and is what keeps the prices so low. He has a point, but it’s a bit heavy-handed.

In general the tone of his talk is about getting down to what really matters in our lives and food really matters. For me it cuts to the core of why I want to grow food for a living. At my day job, on a micro level it is difficult because of the oppressive environment, the incessant noise and lights and distractions make concentration almost impossible. It’s these reasons I just want to get up and leave. But on a macro level, I just don’t care what we do there. And not just that particular company but the whole corporate mess. All the corporate jobs I’ve ever had. I’m sure what we do is important, but I can’t feel it. I’ve never been able to equate any of my corporate jobs with any kind of real meaning in my life. On some level I can intellectually see how it might matter, but for the most part it’s just a paycheck, and I find that sad.

The simple act of planting a seed, cultivating a plant, harvesting food, sharing with my neighbors is completely honest and genuine. It gives my life meaning and joy. I think that is what he was shooting for, but really he was all over the place so it’s hard to tell.