The trends that dictate how and what we consume have seemingly lost any grip in reality. I saw for a moment during those frustratingly elongated days of COVID a shimmer of hope as industry insiders began to rumble up stories of a broken system that profits off the back of cheap labor and fanciful marketing stories selling commodity and organic side by side like peas of the same pod.
I was hopeful that when things bounced back there would be a great reset, or better yet a great re-assessment, taking a step back to recognize the damage done to society as a whole when we openly play a role in practices we know to be anything but holistic and fortify them with false fact. It seems for decades everyone in the industry of producing and serving food was happy turning a blind eye to the faults they knew they were making as challenging the system may also challenge their bottom line.
Well……the revolution never came. In fact it seems that when the door swung open the masses flooded back stronger than ever. Like a Best Buy at opening bell on Black Friday consumers clawed over each other for a seat at the table. The beneficiaries of those government relief dollars on the backside of disaster were the ones (mostly) who sat in the pocket and fed the digital gluttony that peaked over the “lock down” hedging their bets on the next set of trends to carry them to the promised land, never taking time to look back at the ruts laid down in the soil by their practice.
At present the issues we have faced in the past remain in place, overshadowed by a few minor tweaks to create buzz about change hiding truths behind hype words. Rather than shift towards a system of equanimity owners and operators have found new ways to peak consumers interest in the wares they are hocking by dressing them up with a new wave of fancy and heart warming words (regenerative jumps out as the leader of the race) rather than address the systemic issue that would require a complete dismantling to correct.
To me the most disheartening aspect is societies willingness to push forward, harder than ever, towards consumerism. It seems as though the masses believe if they fill their coffers with enough things or align with all the right trends they will be platformed above the rest, holding wisdom and power sufficient enough to weather any storm. Knowledge need not be fact checked, rather the endless game of telephone of bits and pieces of information about topics becomes our road map to “truth”, replacing years of research and dedication with a few clicks of the keys or swipes on the phone.
I am not sure what the way out looks like, I do believe there are many seeking that answer and working hard in search of it. My belief is that if we all slow down and start delineating want versus need we may be able to find value in moments rather than status. We may begin to question why we buy into the stories we do and question their truth. We may begin to find new pathways in life that don’t require being constantly plugged into commodity and the endless grind for prosperity, bringing us one step closer to homeostasis and the beauty of survival based on mutual aid.