Nutrition & Politics

It would be naïve to think I could avoid politics entirely. After all, I own a health food store…  

Food is inescapably political. Always has been, always will be. What we grow roots our civilization. What we cook defines our culture. What we eat confirms our identity.  If the connection still isn’t clear, just think about the phrase “white bread,” or “meat and potatoes.” They evokes a sensibility, an approach to life, a cultural identity and political alignment – every bit as much as a meal. 

This isn’t just a cultural or “soft” phenomenon, either. There’s a hard correlation with the ballot box. People who support different candidates shop at different grocery stores, buy different food, and cook that food differently. These are not small differences, either. 

Now, if this is true about food in general, it’s doubly true about “Health Food.”        

Where the statements we make with other foods are often subconscious, Health Food statements are often deliberate and even overtly political.   We’ve always been a utopian counterculture. The scrappy hippies who think we know better than Big Money. The back-to-the-landers who think we know better than Big Ag. The revolutionary traditionalists who think we know better than Big Pharma. The Fair-Traders, the zero-wasters. The people who strive to remake society, often through gentle role-modeling, although occasionally with energy and antagonism. 

So not only is tofu linked to a political and cultural identity (every bit as much as “meat and potatoes” is) (ask anyone who’s ever been called a “soy boy”), but it’s an identity which can feel like a rebuke to the meat and potatoes crowd.  Meanwhile, grass-fed beef can be a repudiation of the entire white bread food system. Let’s not even start on herbal medicine, fair trade, thoughtfully curated global flavors, and compostable packaging. 

The thing is, despite everything I’ve just described, Health Food vs. the Mainstream has become a lot less us-and-them than it used to be.  I’d like to say it’s because we’ve mellowed out some on our side. And it’s true we have, in some ways. But mostly, it’s because the mainstream has come around a lot more than we want to give them credit for. Don’t get me wrong: the struggle is by no means over. But it’s been a while since I’ve heard anyone in authority demean organic, or suggest that all herbs are snake oil. Average families are avoiding artificial ingredients. Major corporations are embracing sustainability. You can buy organic milk at the gas station. 

So why, with all the progress we’ve made, does it feel like the connection between Nutrition and Politics is becoming even more fraught and contentious than it ever was?   

I blame COVID, and the recent presidential election. 

Let’s start with COVID.

The less that is said about the dark days of COVID, the better. It was a tough time. Uncertainty, fear, and disconnection amplified our underlying distrust of each other and the authorities, and brought out some latent fundamentalism to boot. Speaking personally I was compared at least once to Adolf Hitler (although I believe favorably so), by someone I actually agreed with on most issues – just not vehemently enough I guess. It’s like COVID turned the volume up on all our differences until we couldn’t hear each other any more. 

And then this election: for the first time in my lifetime, granular beliefs about health and nutrition are being linked explicitly to a party and a candidate. 

That’s unfortunate. Americans already have a hard enough time seeing eye to eye on issues like vaccines, water fluoridation, and processed food without conflating these issues with red state/blue state worldviews. 

It’s already come back to me. A year ago, I wrote an article in which I defended the safety and even health benefits of canola oil. Little did I know it would bring me so much grief. I swear, I was just talking about food! But now I’ve been accused of “taking sides” and “alienating half your customers.”

Honestly, I wasn’t defending canola oil because of some political or cultural identity. At least not consciously… I certainly didn’t do it so I could sell more canola oil. (Because, to be fully transparent, I can make a lot more money selling tallow). I defended canola oil because I care about nutrition, and I thought I’d do my own small part to set the record straight. 

I love the idea of fighting the good fight. I like being on a team of feisty contrarians. But I hate the idea that it forces us to take sides on anything else than the issue at hand.

Personally, I take herbs AND I get vaccinated. I deeply respect the historical healing traditions AND the modern science.  I have canola oil, mustard oil, sesame oil, AND schmaltz in my cabinet, and I use all of them. My 7-year-old controls her asthma with a combination of herbs, AND (as needed) two different kinds of inhaler. I frankly don’t care what that says about my identity. I just like that it when she can breathe. 

So here at Debra’s we will continue to sell products we believe in, but we’re not going to be too proscriptive about that belief. There are still some lines we won’t cross. But beyond that, we just put the best stuff on the shelves we can. Like, if you believe that seeds oils are healthy (like I do) we will continue to sell some really nice seed oils. And if you believe that tallow is the right choice for you (like I sometimes do), we will continue to offer high quality grass-fed tallow. And if you prefer partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil… well, have fun at the supermarket! But when you’re done there, we’ll still welcome you through our doors here. 

And that’s both the literal truth, and a metaphor for something bigger.