Food is Food is Food – a video manifesto

Food is Food is Food – a video manifesto

Food.
We all have it. We all need it.
Food, among a couple of other things, is the very thing that keeps us alive.
Food is life itself. It can be sweet, spicy, bland or delicious.
It triggers emotions and memories.
It is an excuse for getting together, for taking a break, for going outside, and even for visiting new places.
Food is culture.
We eat many times a day, and every meal carries the weight of many decisions taken whether we may or may not be aware of it. Because of its role, it is also a major tool to address many issues.
Every decision matters, from our dietary preferences to our choice of ingredients and their providers.
No matter what we eat, our diet or the ingredients, it comes from something that is being produced by someone, somewhere. It travels a certain distance, it is sold at an specific shop, handled by different hands who earned different fares and made different efforts. It went through different procedures and has been in contact with different materials and substances.
Once it has reached our mouths, it may have been cooked by us, or someone else, using different procedures and energy before it reaches our plates. Plates that have been chosen prior to that, and have themselves made a very similar journey.
And where is that plate, on a table where?
Who’s setting the table? who is doing the dishes? Who are we sharing our meal with?

The decisions that we make, and through which other decisions have been made, are almost countless, but are we aware of them? We do play a role here, and every decision makes a difference on the world and many people’s lives – our lives!
It is the time to know, to question, to understand, to join the dots. We can’t afford the luxury of not doing so. For our own’s sake, for the sake of those around us, for our grandchildren, for the planet – our home.
By sharing this table, this meal, this moment of caring about each other, about what nourishes us and our life, we’re starting the conversation. We are celebrating the encounters, the interactions, the differences and the awakening.
We are grateful for what we have, food, life, and others to share it with.

This work was developed by Silvana Juri during her Masters course studies, in Brighton, UK in November 2015.