Support green food in the dining halls

The Issue: Real Food Week considers justice issues in food What we think: "Green" cafe a good start on the issue

The events hosted last week as part of Real Food Week by Real Food BC, in partnership with Ecopledge and the sociology department, were great examples of student initiative.

The week targeted food issues, concentrating on labor rights, the environment, and the complex framework of the food industry (the interaction among labor, farming conglomerates, corporations, and local farmers).

The week included three events: a discussion and potluck dinner, a screening of the film King Corn, and a panel discussion. Although attendance at the events was lacking, the group of committed undergraduate and graduate students in Real Food BC working to raise awareness on campus and to change the way we think about our food should be applauded.

As defined by the Real Food Challenge Web site, real food is "food that is ethically produced, with fair treatment of workers, equitable relationships with farmers (locally and abroad), and humanely treated animals. It is food that is environmentally sustainable - grown without chemical pesticides, large-scale monocropping, or huge carbon footprints."

The first event of the week, a discussion and potluck dinnner, focused on violations of workers' rights in the food industry by corporations like Taco Bell and Burger King. Workers, mostly immigrants, are being paid less than minimum wage (and it's legal). Small farmers are being pushed out of business by these corporations working with farming conglomerates.

Examining the food industry from a social justice perspective has special significance at BC, a university known for a student body committed to awareness of social justice issues. Yet, for college populations, quantity is the issue that makes it hard to always work with local farmers (and for Boston College, it's harder, since there aren't many local farms in New England).

As the third and final event of the week showed, however, creative solutions are possible. The panel discussion consisting of Director of Dining Services Helen Wechsler, a representative from the Food Project and the Massachusetts Farm to School Initiative, and a student member of Real Food BC offered various perspectives, but all agreed on the same issue: BC should attempt to serve sustainable, locally grown food as much as possible.

To do this, Real Food BC has proposed replacing Tamarind in Corcoran Commons with a Green Cafe to serve food from local farmers along with food grown by student volunteers in the organic garden set to debut behind Connolly House this summer. While the cafe is in the planning stage with Dining Services working on menu ideas, The Heights encourages students to get behind Real Food BC and support the cafe and garden. To quote Sarah King, member of Real Food BC and Ecopledge, and A&S '10, "Whether or not you're thinking about the food you eat, you're ingesting the issues regardless."