Holy crap! Big Brother IS watching...

OK, I don't know what I find more disturbing - that corporate (North) America controls and wields an inordinate amount of power and influence, or the fact that they use it for unknown, or perhaps even nefarious, purposes.
In my last post, I had written about various places and organizations that can help, if you're choosing to buy independent, local and ethical foodstuffs to eat. I had written about how several large corporations have taken over most of the control and supply of a lot of food that we consume. I had also implied that this massive control over our food supply is NOT a great idea.
Do you know what? Some of these corporations have ALREADY visited that blog posting that mentioned their names. Somehow they managed to find my blog posting, without doing a search, and ended straight up on the blog post.
THIS IS DISTURBING. They somehow have the ability to search and find anything, even innocuous little blog posts like mine...

FFT

There is no safety in belonging to the select few, for minority people or anybody else... Our present idea of freedom is only the freedom to do as we please: to sell ourselves for a high salary, a home in the suburbs, and idle weekends. But that is a freedom dependent upon affluence, which is in turn dependent upon the rapid consumption of exhaustible supplies. The other kind of freedom is the freedom to take care of ourselves and of each other. The freedom of affluence opposes and contradicts the freedom of community life.

-Wendell Berry

Where to buy groceries

So, sometimes people ask me where to buy food... I think it's less about "where", but rather the "how", which is the important question.
The rise of the corporate supermarket is mainly due to the North American consumer wanting convenience above quality; it is seen as far easier to buy EVERYTHING, from coffee and tin foil, to toilet paper and clothing, all in one "convenient" place, and doing it as infrequently as possible. However, most other places around the world, including continental Europe, the concept consuming fresh produce for supper, buying only what we need for the day, is what we find so delightful about going to France and visiting small marchés. This idea actually partially ties back to the belief that when we pray, "and give us this day our DAILY bread", that we actually MEAN it. It also ties back to the Exodus, when the Israelites were given just enough food for the day, and no one should then have too much or too little to eat.
And thus, it becomes a question of "how" we buy food, not necessarily "where"...
That being said, to list some of my favorite places to buy foodstuffs:

General all-round supermarket: Fiesta Farms, without question. They are an independent supermarket, and that, by itself, is a good enough reason to go. However, they are hugely supportive of local growers and processors, and have much in their aisles that will make you proud to be an Ontarian. I'd go to Culinarium, but it's way too far from my house to make it worthwhile to go. The Karma Food Co-op is another great option, but, again, it's a bit too inconveniently far from my home to make it worth shopping there regularly.

Farmer's Markets: There are tons all around the city. However, be sure that they are actually FARMER'S markets, not just re-sellers (such as the one in High Park - that is simply a re-seller of produce, hence why they have pineapples and mangoes available). A list can easily be found at "'Toronto Farmer's Market Network"

Asian food: This, I can't help; it's part of my DNA. I'm not saying it's ethical, or it's right, but sometimes I just need a good dose of food from the East. Now, there are items at Fiesta Farms, if I was looking for it, but I am a fan of T&T down on Cherry St.

Milk and Dairy:
Milk: Steen's Dairy. They are one of only two independent dairy processors left in the country, all the other ones being bought up mainly by Agropur (not so pure) and Parmalat, both non-Canadian companies.
Yogurt: Liberte's a good choice, though they are based in Quebec. Saugeen County Yogurt makes a decent yogurt as well.
Cheese: We have an embarrassment of riches with regards to cheese in Ontario. You'd never have to buy no-name or Kraft cheeses (which actually have no milk in them anyways!) again.

Fruit and veg:
See above. I'd encourage you to buy seasonal, as much as possible.
Bananas: it is possible to buy Fair Trade bananas in this city!

Grains:
Flour, oats, barley: Grassroots Organics is where I now get my gluten products, as the farmers there grow, process and grind their own grain.

Meat:
There are, again, an embarrassment of riches with regards to meat. Not only are there many who raise great meat, including Kerr's Farms, Beretta Farms, Cumbrae's Farms, but there are many places to buy their products, including (of course) Fiesta Farms, farmer's markets, The Healthy Butcher, Cumbrae's, Butcher by Nature, Fresh from the Farm, Culinarium, etc etc etc.

Other sundry:
Honey: again, there are tons of honey producers in this province. One local variety is actually produced by Foodshare, by Toronto bees feeding on Toronto flowers. That is an easy hook-up, if you want some.
Sugar: I would opt for buying Fair Trade sugar, as I would for chocolate, cocoa, coffee and tea. I usually buy these products at Ten Thousand Villages, mainly because it's all in one place, and you'd be helping support the MCC in their projects as well!

I think that's about it. That's what I do, at least, avoiding the big chains as much as I possibly can; if I never have to walk into any of their stores and buy the processed crap that they sell, or the produce that they gouged out of farmers, then I am glad to do so.
If you have any other questions, or suggestions, then please do send them to me! I'd be glad to hear about more local, ethical produce!

and I thought I didn't like meetings...

I've been pegged as next year's Chair(wo)man of the Board for FoodShare. This is particularly strange to me, as I didn't think I particularly have leadership capabilities. I'm a great follower, a great ideas person, not a great leader.
To be sure, it's terribly exciting in light of all the movement and momentum behind local food and agriculture. I am supposed to spend this year observing how this year's Chair attends to their duties, and thus be able to pick up the mantle next year.
Well, we shall see how this year goes. Certainly, if this is the domain where I eventually intend to move into, then this would probably be the best way to jump into it...

Africa is not a photo-op

One thing that has been on my mind for the past few weeks is the nature of our humanitarian/missional attempts internationally. I am trying very hard not to be judgmental, but I tend to notice that the vast majority of trips that are made are done with well-intentioned and good-hearted, but fundamentally colonialistic assumptions.
This is despite the fact that I could cop-out and argue anything -I- do, professionally speaking, would be "exempt" from that; this is completely untrue. I completely disagree with the notion of being the "celebrity Canadian doc" that's parachuted in and put on display for a few weeks, without effecting any long-term usefulness or change.
To explain: much international (or, heck, cross-town) travel done for the 'betterment of mankind' tends to be the Westerner/Western NGO deciding unilaterally what would be best for said developing nation/homeless people/drug addicts/other socio-economic/racial group. The Westerner goes, with much love and good intent, does whatever THEY felt like doing, and then returns, with great photo-ops and stories about the "good" that they've done, without taking into consideration long-term effects or effectiveness of said travel, or whether it was actually what "they" wanted in the first place. This is no more than a repeated oppression by the colonizer, deciding what works best for the poor/marginalized/the 'other', without any consideration to what the colonized would do.
One story that has been driving me nuts has been hearing about one project where an individual is taking a bunch of cameras to some HIV orphans in Africa, having them take photographs for two weeks, displaying their photographs for a 'show' at the end of the two weeks, and then taking back all the photographs back to the West, in order to display them further to other Westerners.
To me, this is a travesty! What long-term benefit would it be for the children to NOT have their photos, that they took, with them? What will these children do with cameras for which they have no batteries, film, developing materials or a darkroom? Is it simply a benefit of the Westerner who gets to keep all these photos for show? Why is no one asking the hard (and potentially, very offensive) questions about what the value of projects are?

This post doesn't make any sense

I realize that I don't like conflict. Correction: I don't like people being mad at me. I suspect I would quite like conflict, as long as I won (which then, isn't really conflict, but conquest, so I guess it's quite a different thing), but I certainly don't like the aftermath of having people upset about the whole ordeal. This is a logical thing to happen, I suppose, if one insisted on winning all the time.
This is entirely beside the point. Two people I know are upset at me. I've apologized profusely to one (who, thankfully, forgave me, so hopefully isn't too upset anymore), the other one, I'm not exactly sure what I did wrong.
Both situations don't sit well. They just sit in the pit of your stomach and gnaw away at it. I suppose this is how some people get ulcers. Now, I am by no means a people-pleaser, but being temporarily disliked by people that you like, well, sucks, for lack of a better word.
I suppose I have to make another correction again: I don't mind people being mad at me if it's over something that matters not. If I overthrew the moneychanger's tables, and they were upset about that, I think I could take it. I suppose if I joined the Burmese monks in their struggle, and the army didn't like that idea, that wouldn't bother me either. Furthermore, if I had successfully assassinated Hitler, and the Nazis were mad at me, that would be alright. No biggie.

Self-inflicted injuries

You know, slicing off a substantial portion of my thumb and thumbnail HURTS! Holy cow, I've been surprised at how much it's been paining me (and yes, I haven't seen a doctor yet for my injuries). I'm surprised at how much damage I sustained. I'm finding it even more surprisingly difficult to function missing one opposable thumb - it's a lot more challenging than I had thought.
However, despite all this, it's my vanity that's the most 'sticks itself out like a sore thumb' - I don't really care how long it takes to heal, as long as it heals up normally. Something tells me, however, looking at the extent of the injury, I'm afraid that it might not... :( stupid Japanese knife...

Bubble girl

Sometimes I think I shouldn't be let outdoors. I was explaining to someone how come I rarely played team sports, and the reasoning essentially comes down to this: I am extremely accident-prone and clumsy. Un-co-ordinated to the nth degree. Case in point: in less than 48 hours, I managed to slice off the end of my thumb and thumb nail, gashed open my ankle on a shopping cart, and bruised my elbow on a pew. And folks, this was from fairly mundane to no physical activity on my part.
Of course, people do remember how I managed to injure myself fairly badly in New Zealand on an ecological project, but I digress... mainly, I should be kept in a bubble of some sort, since I obviously can't seem to keep myself upright and whole if I try to do anything too, uh, dangerous, like grocery shopping or listening to a sermon...

FFT

Why do you sit there in your pews looking up at me? There is nothing that anyone can say that will absolve you on Judgement Day from the act of sitting in the pew hoping somebody else will solve the world's problems. You just want to feel better about yourselves. You don't want to change the world because that would mean a change in your standard of living.

- Paula Spurr

The sermon... is therefore designed to make men feel, and feel so deeply that they will resolve. It is designed to make men resolve and resolve so strongly that they will act.

- Charles Reynolds Brown

Maybe I should just do a Cosmo quiz and get it over with...

In the last little while, I've been in conversation with people regarding various quizzes: about your personality, your likes/dislikes, etc. Some folks I know are going overseas, so the team decided to do the Myers-Briggs personality testing to see how their group dynamics might shape up. Some of them are not terribly surprising in the personality types that came up, but people seem to have a hard time believing that I actually sit in the middle of the road for the four dimensions - the 'Jesus complex', I've heard it said (which, I guess, would explain a lot...). I'm not sure what that's supposed to indicate - that I have no personality? That I have a suprahuman personality?
Secondly, I've done one of those 'how big is your ecological footprint' quizzes, and, whether I included my driving to the suburbs for work or not, I still end up requiring two Planet Earth's in order to sustain my lifestyle. TWO! I thought I was doing really well with all my granola-crapola, but I still need TWO Earths! This frightens me on two fronts: one, that I am still very very very far from being able to demonstrate something that would be something like global parity and two, it makes me wonder where people who throw out a lot of garbage, buy a lot of stuff, eat out a ton, and use their clothes dryer and automatic dishwasher end up. Do they end up using EIGHT planets?

FFT

No man ever believes that the Bible means what it says: He is always convinced that it says what he means.
-George Bernard Shaw

Garden eatin'

One of the beautiful things about this province is the yumminess it produces. I have been able to enjoy spring asparagus pretty much every day for the past month. Luckily, I have a supplier that farms close to my work, so have been able to bring bundles of the green goodness regularly. There is something really delightful in having produce fresh, picked that day, pretty much straight onto the plate... it's almost reminiscent of the goodness of 'eating of the fruits of the garden', literally...

Shekinah glory

So mainly, I've been trying to catch up on sleep for the latter part of the week, but one of the things I've been pondering about is interpretation of holy writings. Now, anyone who could possibly believe that the exact meaning and interpretation has remained static for the past 4000 years or so, must be, in my opinion, nutso. Culture, worldview, philosophy, law and history all play roles in the lens through which we understand scripture. Likely, in several generations, they too, will understand things differently, and that's OK.
What bothers me most, however, is how, for some, we keep it removed from ourselves, that we try to bring meaning that is far from our reality (boy, incest is bad! Genociding a nation is bad news!), such that it doesn't touch our own fundamental assumptions of our own reality. What I mean to say is, in our culture, certainly we acknowledge that ALL the sexual sins are wrong, that 'big, bad' things such as killing large sums of people, or cheating out your family are wrong, which are things that we already understand at an intuitive level, but to go deeper, to the things that will actually FORCE us to change our lifestyle and living, those we seem to keep at bay. Things such as greed and avarice, the prostitution of ourselves, not to sex trade workers, but to our careers, to our own futures, to our financial security, and the actions that we partake in that encourage and perpetuate slavery, those we don't talk about, those we don't change. Without question, I participate in the same things; in some senses, I am even MORE guilty, as I KNOW that I know better, and should do better. For some, I do know that (deliberate) ignorance plays a role.
It's almost like we try to keep things at status quo, affecting piety and repentance, but not fundamentally challenging the assumptions that colour how we have lived our lives. We argue that we are trying not to be 'of the world', but we do that through our affectations, rather than of fundamental shifts into how Kingdom living could look like...

You seriously think I'm lazy???

I'm exhausted; correction, I'm friggin' exhausted! The good news is that friends of mine who were hoping I'd come to their labour just got admitted; I've got to take a shower, bring some overnight stuff and head on over to the hospital. The bad news is is that I'm bone-weary! Not only was the whole Sunday night, let's-surprise-Julia-by-having-a-seizure-at-a-party-just-as-she-was-about-to-go-home, issue threw me off all night (even though, thankfully, it turned out OK), then I spent the next 24 hours after that delivering babies all day (and night...). Today, after going to the office for a bit, I had mucho stuff to catch up on, giving me just enough time to eat supper, and get called to the hospital, which, seeing as it's 7pm, means it's going to be another loooong night before this baby comes.... after which, oh joy of joys, I get to spend 12 hours in the office tomorrow, before I can finally, FINALLY, maybe be in bed by 11pm and maybe get six or seven hours of uninterrupted sleep in four days. This results in a total of about 12 or 13 hours of sleep in 96 hours total. That's just super.
I think I'm going to start correcting people when they think I don't work very much or very hard...