The Inspired Kitchen
musings by Jaqi Boyer, owner
Sustainable Sustainability:
An expanding circle of healthy communities
Yesterday a women from the Evanston chamber of commerce asked me how I define "sustainability". Words such as "organic", "green", "bio-degradable", "recyclable", "free-range", "fair-trade" all rose up within me, elbowing their way to the front of my mind, vying for their place in the holy grail of "sustainability". But the word that I spoke surprised me, and it didn't fight for a place in my mind, it arose effortlessly from my heart: community.
Community. "Sustainability means community?" had she heard me correctly? Yes, community. But not community as we see it now...community as a circle with a wider and wider embrace. Community as it becomes more and more inclusive, whole, supportive, locally focused. As we turn towards each other and finally acknowledge that we all share one home and that we must work together to take care of it. A "sustainable" sustainability movement is comprised of individuals who feel so connected to their community that they know deeply that it is worth preserving. There is a big danger right now of turning off communities and individuals to the sustainability movement because of the "whole foods" phenomenon of inflated pricing. The message that "I can't afford to be sustainable" is a dangerous one that is spreading quickly. Even more dangerous, however, is continuing to define ourselves and others in terms of what products we/they buy.
We keep asking questions of the products and foods we buy and consume: are they organic? local? bio-degradable? It is a productive and positive process, asking these questions. But it also keeps us in a cycle of defining ourselves based on what we consume, what we buy. It continues to isolate us and define us in terms of our marketing demographic. We may think we are doing good for the world by giving our paycheck to whole foods, but really we are continuing the same cycle of consumption and identity based on the products that are marketed to us. As long as we continue to look to big retailers to give us validation that we are "good, environmentally conscious people" we will never get there. Do we know who we are outside of what we buy? Outside of what marketing techniques work to manipulate and lure us in? If we don't, its time to begin the process of growing ourselves locally: two feet on the ground, exposed to sunlight and air and fertilized with connection to our neighbors.
