shari danielson

The belief I’m about to argue — that eating meat is ethical — has been, for me, 25 years in the making. For much of this time, paradoxically, I was a vegetarian because I thought eating animals was morally reprehensible.

What a self-righteous twit I was.

At my in-laws’ traditional Thanksgiving dinner, I recited graphic details about industrially raised turkey. (Do you know what debeaking is?) At the counter in a fast-food restaurant, I’d loudly order a cheeseburger with no meat. (I want a bun, cheese, pickles, lettuce and onions…but no meat!) At a neighborhood pig roast, I asked the host if he had ever read Charlotte’s Web. (You would never be able to eat pork if you had.)

Last week, I was granted three more reasons to be glad I moved to Minneapolis seven years ago.

(Full disclosure: I don’t live in Minneapolis proper, but in a suburb 15 minutes west of the city. But when I travel and people ask me where I’m from, I always proudly proclaim “Minneapolis.” )

The videos, if you can stand to watch them, are surreal and sickening. Calves being beaten by a pickaxe. Ill pigs being buried alive by a bulldozer. Live baby chicks being tossed into a meat grinder. 

Imagine, for a moment, that you're five years old. After a busy morning in Kindergarten, you notice that your stomach is growling. It's time for lunch. Unless you brought food from home, you'll be eating what's served in your school's cafeteria. You get in line and grab a tray. You're barely tall enough to see the food behind the counter, and your teacher isn't there to help because she's having her lunch elsewhere. So when the lady wearing the plastic gloves asks you what you want to eat, you're not sure what to say. Then you might notice something familiar -- maybe a hot dog, spaghetti, or some chicken nuggets -- so you point to it and watch as it's placed on your tray.

The Roman god Janus, for whom January is named, has two faces: one looking forward, the other back. He represents gates and doorways. Beginnings and endings. Transitions. He’s also credited with introducing agriculture to the early Romans.

See why I chose him to symbolize SGT’s year-end retrospective on food?

As far as food is concerned, 2010 was a particular two-faced year. There was noteworthy progress in the fight for a more sustainable and humane food system, but also some crushing setbacks. This past year, food was used as a political football. A weapon. Even a scapegoat. But just as often, food was a means of self-expression, a way to communicate values and priorities, an invitation to see things with a different perspective. A chance to make a real difference.

What are your most significant food memories of 2010? We hope SGT helped shape at least some of them for you. Here’s a partial list of our own to get you started on your trip down memory lane:

Last year for Valentine’s Day, I wrote a blog post that asked the question: “Can Food Get You in the Mood?” The subject was aphrodisiacs, e.g. foods that can boost your mood for sex.

Minnesotan psychiatrist and author Dr. Henry Emmons takes it a step further. He claims that the right foods can take mood-boosting into every aspect of your life. Not just your love life.

See the photo, above? That’s me in the middle grinning and blushing like a 12-year-old girl going backstage to meet the Jonas Brothers.

But, needless to say, those guys aren’t the Jonases. And though you may not immediately recognize their faces, I’m guessing you’ll need only their first names to know immediately who they are.

The one on the left is Ben. The other is Jerry.

The big election news in Minnesota is the gubernatorial race. Whomever we choose to be our new governor – Mark Dayton, Tom Emmer or Tom Horner – will have to hit the ground running to balance the budget, work with an increasingly polarized group of legislators, and turn around an economy that has decimated jobs, home values, and funding for infrastructure, healthcare, and public education.

Chances are, if you’re a regular visitor to this web site, you proudly support the mission of local, sustainable farms: you’re a member of your neighborhood food co-op; you shop at farmers markets; you subscribe to a regular CSA delivery; you spend your Saturdays crop-mobbing; and you eat in restaurants that are similarly committed to supporting local farmers.

Pat yourself on the back. You’re an informed and conscientious locavore – and darn proud of it. You care about your food’s origin, its environmental impact, and its connection to the community.

So, tell me: Is it possible to honor these values if you eat food that’s not grown within a 100-mile radius, maybe even a 1,000-mile radius, of where you live? Are you able to eat bananas, grapes and chocolate, and drink coffee and tea, with a clear conscience?

The story hit the mainstream media a couple of weeks ago. The Corn Refiners' Association (CRA) asked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for permission to use the term "corn sugar," rather than the much maligned "high fructose corn syrup" (HFCS) on food labels.