tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7120755123134887404.post5691062568322742586..comments2015-03-16T05:32:56.170-05:00Comments on A Common Fire: The OpenGale Kennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09051295784299114920noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7120755123134887404.post-21077191712375212302009-10-23T19:48:32.752-05:002009-10-23T19:48:32.752-05:00Joyce - it heartens me tremendously to read that y...Joyce - it heartens me tremendously to read that you think your best bet for any kind of middle ground is in the Episcopal Church you've stumbled upon in Eugene. Here in way-over-the-top liberal Massachusetts, the Episcopal Church seems hopelessly polarized and dysfunctional, just cracking under the strain of trying to hold it all together.<br /><br />I am also delighted in your explicit mention of the working class -- a group, along with immigrants and anyone with a different culture, the Episcopal Church gives lip service to but largely does not see. That contradiction is all the harder to sustain in this end-of-the-Gospel-of-Mark year for the Sunday lectionary: every Sunday we read of how the people on the bottom "got" Jesus and how the rich went away sorrowful.<br /><br />So glad to read your thoughful comments!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10721901796026122787noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7120755123134887404.post-46904984712284664252009-10-22T15:01:24.647-05:002009-10-22T15:01:24.647-05:00Joyce - You should definitely connect the Arts and...Joyce - You should definitely connect the Arts and Crafts people with the modern day back-to-nature types. They're following a long tradition in U.S. History - think Thoreau and Walden Pond.<br /><br />And Laura - Oh, Michael Pollan. I remember reading a review he did of the Green Revolution, where he tied himself in knots about sustainable agriculture and the need of the world's hungry people. Interestingly, when the Green Rev. biologist died a few weeks ago (he was a prof. at A&M), no one mentioned any of Pollan's (and certain other environmentalists') concerns.Gale Kennyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09051295784299114920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7120755123134887404.post-63375284660945636662009-10-21T22:32:06.853-05:002009-10-21T22:32:06.853-05:00An interesting problem is that the more wealthy pe...An interesting problem is that the more wealthy people buy organic, the cheaper it becomes for everyone - in part because you're no longer getting the better working conditions for poor migrant laborers. Instead you're getting organic food grown under otherwise traditional industrial ag conditions. True, I imagine we all win when we cut down on pesticides, farmworkers included, so it's still probably not a bad thing.<br /><br />But that's why I support people who write about food choices from a human ethics perspective (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Way-We-Eat-Choices-Matter/dp/157954889X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256182172&sr=8-1" rel="nofollow">Peter Singer & Jim Mason</a>), rather than an environmental aesthetics perspective (Michael Pollan et al.). <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2009/06/22/090622crat_atlarge_sanneh?currentPage=all" rel="nofollow">This</a> is one of my favorite descriptions of Michael Pollan, who apparently was shocked to find migrant labor crews working an organic farm he visited:<br /><br />"In fact, pleasure isn’t merely the motivating force in Pollan’s books; it’s the goal. His chief criticism of Chicken McNuggets is that they are insufficiently delicious. (Has he tried them with the hot-mustard sauce?) He is both a gourmand and an idealist, which means that he tastes the entire food economy each time he has a meal. When he saw those migrant laborers, maybe he was thinking about their wages—but he was also thinking about his supper."<br /><br />He "tastes the entire food economy" with each meal! It's so perfect!Laurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00876304694337398764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7120755123134887404.post-44380231257431331822009-10-21T15:14:40.133-05:002009-10-21T15:14:40.133-05:00Thanks, Gale. I think I'll make a point of lin...Thanks, Gale. I think I'll make a point of linking Arts & Crafts to the Ore-ganic phenomenon in my History of Design class in the spring.<br /><br />Indeed - between anti-modernism and progressivism we have a very narrow strait to sail. The A-G did that sail - amazing feat.Joyce Chenghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02352934552525664628noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7120755123134887404.post-21715311735206946162009-10-21T10:27:31.517-05:002009-10-21T10:27:31.517-05:00I think the organic food movement/gardening can be...I think the organic food movement/gardening can be linked to the arts and crafts movement and the anti-modernists of the late 19C and early 20C in the US. <br /><br />It had weird iterations: white southerners who wanted to go back to the Old South instead of toward industrialization; high-church Episcopalians who reveled in Latin plain song and neo-gothic cathedrals, and who built faux medieval museums like the Cloisters; and back-to-the-land types who embraced nature, like Teddy Roosevelt.<br /><br />I think your Oregon people can be worked into this tradition, in part. But I also think that one shouldn't be too hasty to condemn organic food - the more wealthy people buy organic, the cheaper it'll become for everyone. Many organic farms also have much better working conditions for poor migrant laborers, and so the act of using your consumer power to make a political statement is not without some value. <br /><br />Along these lines, if Oregon's organic foodies fail to recognize that church agencies do good work for migrant workers and immigrants, they are only seeing part of the picture. But I suspect that for the majority, their reasoning isn't bigotry against religious groups, but ignorance. A quick Google produces the following:<br /><br />An LA church favors illegal immigrants getting health care:<br />http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-immig-health20-2009sep20,0,15012.story<br /><br />Or the National Farm Workers Ministry:<br />http://www.nfwm.org/category/map/about/boardGale Kennyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09051295784299114920noreply@blogger.com