Relationships around food

I once heard that the full meaning of the vice gluttony was not only overeating, but also eating without regard for one another. How often do we eat in the car or at our desks, separate from our families or friends? Our fast-paced culture values convenience, often to the detriment of relationships.

These relationships around food extend beyond the dinner table. I find that when I take the time to think about where my food comes from and what it is made of, eating becomes about more than my own family. Walking past the melons in our local store that have come from Guatemala, I wonder: Who grew these? How many people have been involved in transporting them all the way to northwestern Minnesota?

These are relational questions. In these kinds of reflections, eating becomes about our relationships to the land, to each other and to the Giver of Life.

This message is adapted from “Relationships around food” written by Jennifer Baker-Trinity that first appeared in the February 2010 issue of Café magazine.