The Origins of Existing Food Cultures
If we try to make a short survey of the different stages in the history
of food we can distinguish three main periods:
- The longest period that reaches back into
primordial times is the period when people lived in tribal communities
and when they consumed the food which they acquired by gathering and
hunting, or they produced it themselves. The present remnants of this
period are heterogeneous and variegated traditional food
cultures.
- A great deal shorter is the period influenced by modern development of
science and technology and its impacts on food production. The decisive time
was in the middle of 19th century with the emergence of
chemical engineering, and the consequent invention of artificial fertiliser.
Since then the use of agrochemicals became the norm for food production on a
global scale. The fast food culture is the
typical outcome of this development.
- In the 1920s there started the movement for organic farming and
natural food
production. Its members rejected the use of agrochemicals and
returned to the traditional practices of food production, but in the
light of new knowledge of natural ecosystems and the living organisms.
In the relatively short period of its existence this movement has become
a single serious alternative to the mainstream conventional food
production. [1]
What is the nature of food culture that belongs to this last period? This is
rather a challenging question, for we do not have one single food culture. As
one of the main characteristics of fast food culture is the uniformity of dishes
and style, so is one of the main characteristics of the alternative movement the
diversity of diets and eating styles. In spite of this the members of
natural food movement have something in common –
consumption of the best possible quality of natural food.
Is there any explanation for the reasons behind this great diversity among the members of the
natural food movement?
One answer is the present coexistence of various cultures. Among us are
still people who believe in the traditional religious explanations of the
world existence. In modern times we are joined by others who have accepted
materialistic explanations of the origins of the world. Beside this there
are people who have rejected traditional forms of spirituality, although
they acknowledge the existence of the spiritual world. This means that those
who today produce and consume natural food can belong to any of these
cultures, although the movement itself has arisen and is centred in a
holistic understanding of the world. [2]
There is another reason for the present 'bio-diversity' in the field of
holistic nutrition. In THE RITE OF A COMMON MEAL
it is explained that we live now in a time of transition from old communities
related by blood to the future communities of free individuals. The essential
characteristic of the present time is that people are working consciously on
personal development by their own initiative. This holds true also for the
domain of nutrition. Here we have a key insight which enables us to understand
the fact that in the natural food movement there exists such a great diversity
of nutritional approaches and dietary styles.
And what is the role of spiritual science inside this holistic movement?
It provides a 'tool' for mutual understanding of various groups and
individuals, because "spiritual science does not stand for this or that kind
of diet – what it actually does is to enable people to understand any form
of diet." [3] Only with the help of such an
all-inclusive approach can we recognise the common attributes which are
connecting all diverse streams inside the natural food movement.
One common attribute is that new food culture can be built only on the
basis of the freedom of individuals which participate in its creation
through their own deeds. Old food cultures were given to people by their
leaders and all they had to do was to accept them and carry them out. A
new food culture must be created by individuals out of freedom of insight
– that is, from an understanding of the reasons behind any change or
initiative.
Conscious Co-Creation of New Food Culture
In spite of the fact that a new food culture can be created only by free
individuals, there exists a few necessary conditions which serve to provide
suitable circumstances for its emergence. Among them is the need to distinguish
the four different areas of social organism
where we have to work when embarking on the path towards a new food culture.
1. Self-education and education of others about a holistic approach to nutrition
We live in times when people need to know 'something about everything' if
they want to decide on the basis of knowledge of the consequences of their
decision, and not on the basis of good intention or belief that their
choices are the right ones. This is also in the spirit of the age of the consciousness soul
which demands from us that whatever we do should be guided by the light of
real understanding and not out of traditions or a one-sided materialistic
explanation.
When we grasp this, then we can ask: "What is this 'something about
nutrition' that everyone should know if we decide to work toward
co-creation of a new food culture?" Generally, not all members of a
specific community can invest several years of intensive study
of a holistic approach to nutrition with the aim to gain a proper
understanding of such a complex field. It is good if there are a few people who
have a special interest in nutrition, while other people need only
become familiar with the fundamental principles of nutrition. This is a
necessity for the simple reason that people cannot participate in the
work of conscious co-creation of a new food culture without knowledge of
these principles. If people are not familiar with nutritional principles
then their decisions and opinions will be affected by all kinds of
influences working below the level of full consciousness. It is not
expected that everyone should grasp all fundamental principles of
nutrition from the outset, but that people get informed about them
before they start to discuss any initiative or activity related to the
implementation of a new food culture. [4]
2. Mutual consultations and acceptance of agreements
After we have acquired enough basic understanding
of the holistic approach to nutrition we can decide together with other
members of a community what must be left to individual freedom of
choice, and what are those issues we have in common and how they need to
be formulated in agreements. This includes:
- arrangements in regard to the structure and
decision making procedures which will enable efficient and democratic collaboration of all members of a community;
- agreement about the basic quality standards of food produced by or provided to the community;
- any other kind of arrangement the members agree they need.
It has to be stressed the great importance of such consultations which
might be for many people very challenging. However, it is of crucial
importance – if we want to work in the spirit of freedom – that we agree
about our common values and ideals and that we set a
clear borderline between personal freedom and commitment to the common
values and standards. Otherwise there will always be a tendency to
use various forms of compulsion and interference into the personal space of
the members. On the other hand there is the danger that everyone acts in
accordance with their own viewpoints and consequently the common values
become undermined or even lost.
Written agreements have another positive effect of a long term
nature. With our day-to-day work in the community we can achieve very
good practical results, but if we do not 'translate' our ethical
principles into social arrangements, then we do not have a guarantee
that what has been achieved will be respected by the people who join the
community later. When we make social arrangements we have to clearly
formulate which practices are acceptable and which not. Verbal
agreements can be forgotten in a short time and then things are done out
of habit. And when new people come they start to modify things in a
manner to suit their habits – what is perfectly normal. If we do not
have written agreements then there is nothing which can prevent such a
setback of ethical values of the organization we belong to. Of course,
no agreement should be just a document with nicely sounded statements,
but it must reflect something which really lives in the daily work of
all members of the community. Otherwise, even with the written documents
it will not work! [5]
3. Practical initiatives to improve the quality of food
This area includes practical initiatives such as establishing an
organic/biodynamic farm or garden, or new ways of food distribution, or a
wholefood bakery, or forming an association of local producers, distributors
and consumers of natural food. These are economic activities in accordance
with the values and agreements of a specific group of people. And these are
the outcome of the sum of understanding of the importance of nutrition from
all members of this community.
If you wonder why a new food culture needs two pillars – called
'Organic Food' and 'Wholefood' – then you need to know that these two
terms refer to two different aspects of food quality (with some
overlapping):
- 'Organic' refers primarily to the method of food cultivation [6]
- 'Wholefood' refers to the methods of food processing
Nevertheless, both characteristics are integral and complementary
characteristics of the natural food which cannot be separated if one
wants to produce high quality food. For that very reason they represent two
cardinal pillars on which a new food culture can stand. [7]
4. Metamorphoses of existing eating habits and customs
The new communities are the communities of individuals who strive to
become free in all domains of their life. This also includes their eating
preferences and habits. As members of the community which set on the path
towards new food culture we commit ourselves that we will work on
transformation of our existing eating habits. At first sight it seems that
this is a marked contradiction to our personal freedom in relation to food
choices. But is this really so?
The key condition to an action being free is that we know why we are
doing it. But our food preferences and habits are – if we honestly confront
ourselves – to a great extent just a reflection of the environment we grew
up in. If this was Japan, or Russia, or Mexico, it would be reflected in our
eating preference and habits. Even that part that is more personal cannot be
counted as an expression of our deliberations, but as the outcome of our
budding life or personal sympathies and antipathies in regard to specific
foods. So we became adults with a large store of eating preference and
habits which belong to us, but they are not really owned by us until we take
a stock of them and evaluate their impacts on our whole being – on our body,
soul, and spirit. Only after
this conscious work can we own them in a way that enables our freedom in
regard to eating preferences and habits. Of course, this process of gradual
‘inner liberation’ will take some time before one comes to the point of
saying: “Now I really know the motives for my
food choices – now I am really free to eat what I really
want!” Thus we realise that our freedom depends
on the possibility of transformation of our existing eating habits and
customs which we acquired in a time when we couldn't understand all their
consequences.
This insight can be good motivation for tackling this difficult
task. Although the change of an eating habit is the responsibility of
each individual – for it cannot be forced upon other people but it has
to spring from an individual insight into the reasons for a change – it
is nevertheless also true that we can create an atmosphere of mutual
understanding and support when we set a common goal to create a new food
culture. This provides a framework which enables us to inspire each
other with our personal achievements in this quite challenging
transformation of those eating habits 'inherited' from the past, when we
did not have the knowledge we have today. This is one of the advantages
of working on transformation of our own eating habits in the group in
comparison to doing it alone.
What is presented in this nutritional principle is the combination of a
holistic approach to nutrition and to the social organism. [8] Since
the first period of the natural food movement in the twentieth century many
important improvements in the domain of nutrition have been achieved. But now it
is time to make another step and ask: "Is there any community:
- which works out of holistic knowledge of the human being and the role of nutrition;
- which is in the continuous process of co-creation of mutual social relationships;
- which has written agreements that respect freedom of individuals?"
[9]
The path towards a new, conscious food culture is not an easy one – it
contains many challenges; but, if we do not start with first steps, we will
never get there. For those of you who are interested, but might still hesitate,
here is a particular insight which can serve as an encouragement: "Concerning all acts of initiative and
creation, there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless
ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then
the providence moves too. All sort of things occur to help one that would never
otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and
material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way.
Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and
magic in it. Begin it now!" [10]
For complementary perspectives see:
♦ GENERAL VERSUS INDIVIDUAL DIET
♦ THE RITE OF A COMMON MEAL
♦ DEVELOPMENT OF NEW EATING 'INSTINCTS'
DIETARY CONCLUSIONS & PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS
The description of the four types of activities which lead towards a new
food culture already contains practical instructions. These activities have
some similarity to the four steps in the DEVELOPMENT OF NEW EATING 'INSTINCTS'
with one key difference: these four steps are intended for individuals
who want to improve their eating habits, whilst activities described above
are intended for a group of people who decide to embark on a path towards
conscious co-creation of a new food culture.
Complementary to these guidelines are practical instructions in
THE RITE OF A COMMON MEAL which are dealing with one specific aspect of a new
food culture: the challenge of how to create common meals when we need to
take into account various personal preferences and needs. This is the
challenge of the present age when we are confronting increasing demands for
all kinds of special diets.
NINE ASPECTS OF A HEALTHY MEAL
gives an overview of all practical aspects which members of a community
needs to look at if they want to cater for the needs of all individual
members. In the community setting it is important to ask the question:
"Who, and on which basis, is deciding about our common menu?"
This question will probably stimulate very intriguing discussion which needs
to involve all those who eat common meals. This will help to raise awareness
about the challenging position of any cook who is striving to create good
quality and healthy meals for the group of people.
Last but not least it needs to be clarified that it is not enough if any
community would do all that is referred above and then members would say:
"Now we have established a new food culture in our community." Whoever
thinks that something of real importance can be achieved in a relatively
short time is deceiving himself. What is essential is that people are ready
for long-term and gradual learning, activity and transformation of what
they inherited from the past. What counts are not just positive results,
but ongoing creative work in the numerous areas related to nutrition.
WARNING: You always have to put the above
practical dietary instructions inside the framework of
GENERAL NUTRITIONAL
GUIDELINES with the aim to know their limits when looking for a solution
of a specific nutritional problem. You also need to be familiar with
THE ROLE OF NUTRITIONAL GUIDELINES
with the aim to avoid any one-sided conclusions.
