The Pleasures of Eating Summary

The Pleasures of Eating by Wendell Berry is an article that describes how we have degraded our standards of what we eat and also describes what we can do to change this problem. Berry states,
"Most urban shoppers would tell you that food is produced on farms. But most of them do not know what farms, or what kinds of farms, or where the farms are, or what knowledge of skills are involved in farming. They apparently have little doubt that farms will continue to produce, but they do not know how or over what obstacles. For them, then, food is pretty much an abstract idea — something they do not know or imagine — until it appears on the grocery shelf or on the table" (1). This quote really made me realize how little I pay attention to what I buy. I rarely ever think about wear the products in grocery stores come from. I just look at the price and go about my way, it's a rather scary thought as to what could be in the foods we purchase without realizing it. Another quote that Berry says is
"One will find this obliviousness represented in virgin purity in the advertisements of the food industry, in which food wears as much makeup as the actors" (2). Which is also a very good point as well. Of course everyone buys food that looks good but in reality it isn't what is on the outside but what's on the inside. We need to know where it came from, if any chemicals or fertilizer was put on it, how it was produced, etc. and not just pick up whatever is easiest on the shelf and Berry does a great job of explaining this. He then gives seven tips on how to fix this problem: 1) Participate in food production. 2) Prepare your own food. 3) Learn the origins of the food you buy and buy the food that is produced closest to your home. 4) Deal directly with a local farmer. 5) Learn as much as you can about the economy and technology of industrial food production. 6) Learn what is involved in the best farming and gardening. 7) Learn as much as you can of the histories of the food species. Berry describes through out his article the politics. ethics, and esthetics of food and ends with "The pleasure of eating should be an extensive pleasure, not that of the mere gourmet" (3).