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What are you eating?
When trying to
trace an orange from the shelf to the farm at mainistream stores, we
were met with many unexpected difficulties. First, the amount of links
in the chain of supply was staggering and at each link, information was
lost or we were not able to trace it further. When asking organic
vendors about the origins of their fruit, they were eager to tell the
story of their produce.
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After
visiting 12-16 shops ranging from small independent corner stores to
mega supermarkets, we concluded that these folks either honestly did
not know where their fruit originated or were not inclined to disclose
this information due to legal issues. From our early research, we
quickly became informed by the lack of power we as consumers have to
make a choice about the food we eat. If we have no information, we
don't have a choice, and all ethical or environmental consideration are
ruled out. Getting information is the first precondition for making a
choice.
The ability to trace food is embedded in the food system, as a safety
precaution in case something gets contaminated, but in our experience
trying to acquire information about our orange's origin the answer was
the same, "this is proprietary information, we can't give it to
you." Our question to government officials was, "Why should it
not be in the public domain, it is certainly in the public interest?"
What can you actually know about the food from knowing where it is
grown? First, you would have an idea of the labor conditions and
regulations on pesticides or environmental protection schemes of the
country or region. If you had access to this information, then it would
be possible inquire about a whole range of other issues.
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As
a consumer, you have power. When you buy food you also buy into a
specific landscape, be it an industrial landscape or a sustainable
landscape. The impact of the consumer reaches far beyond the city. In
Japan, consumers are able to point to the food in the supermarket with
a mobile phone to access information on production, location and
transportion. All of this information is stored in government
databases. If we the people are to be the "government", then the
database is ours and we have the Right to Know where our food comes
from.
FRUIT
is an ongoing project which examines the current food
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systems and
proposes expanded access to knowledge about the food we consume; how
many hours of sunshine did this orange get, did it get chemical or
biological pest control, and of course issues of animal welfare. |
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