More reflections from Day 2
It’s not fun, thinking about everything you spend, all that you consume, all the time.
On top of all of that, I felt guilty at the end of the night, because I talked with some friends from the co-op.
I have come to the conclusion that most of the food we eat is produced in ways that are harmful to the planet and the people that live on it. Tomatoes from Florida, for example, are picked by people in slavery (or near slavery–either way, James 5:4James 5:4
English: World English Bible - WEB
4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you have kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of those who reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Armies. gives us warning).
But do I buy locally grown tomatoes? Not often. My inner-cheapness comes out, and I participate in a system that hurts people made in God’s image.
Will shopping at the co-op and buying direct from farmers I know solve every problem? Of course not! It is, however, a step in the right direction. Another good choice: my wonderful wife is growing vegetables in our back yard.
Can I spend more on food and still live simply? I think so, but it will mean changing some of the other items on which I spend money.
If budgeting is hard for my wife and I, who have two reasonable incomes (with benefits) and no kids (to say nothing of generous parents who supported us as we went to school!), how hard must it be for those with less to make a plan that works!