WHOLE-Y SH*T WHOLE FOODS

BREAKFAST: granola with raisins, ½ grapefruit
LUNCH: carrots, tofu curry soup, pear
DINNER: ½ egg sandwich, almonds, peanut butter on rice cake; chocolate chips

ORIGIN OF ONE ITEM: Whole Foods 365 Peanut Butter

The Integrated Pest Management Center reports that most nuts are sprayed with chemicals of one sort or another. About ½ of peanuts come from Georgia. Nearly all are grown conventionally (read: lots of chemicals). But nuts have not been made a priority to avoid because of pesticide use. 

THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION: In researching my beloved peanut butter, I came across this language on the Whole Foods website:  

WE ONLY DISCRIMINATE WHEN IT COMES TO QUALITY AND TASTE, NOT COUNTRY OF ORIGIN.

Whole Foods Market continues to buy from China because we believe in supporting farmers that provide high quality products.

• Our strategy is not to run away from our Chinese suppliers, but to take a stand and get closer to our suppliers. We will continue to improve on the audit and testing procedures that are already in place.
• Organic farming has a long history in China.  (I laughed out loud out at this)
• Our strategy is to build long term partnerships with our Chinese suppliers.
• We are confident in the quality and integrity of our products from all countries, including China.

• The steps we are taking now will assure the long term quality of our supply as we look beyond the United States for organic food solutions.

The whole bit--pun intended--strikes me as a bit self-righteous. I mean, no offense Whole Foods. I love your peanut butter, and you do a lot of good. But isn’t the source the point?

At the least, as a person of faith, am I not also called to consider the source just as important as the taste, the community of origin equal to my individual palate? In her essay “Knowing Our Place on Earth,” Ellen Davis says that the environmental crisis “must be seen as a profoundly religious crisis; it is a massive disordering of our relationship with the God who created heaven and earth.” See we’ve gotten confused, thinking we don’t need the soil, that we’re the not tied to any place or people.  And I'm extremely guilty of this. 
But now here’s the kicker...

“As the world population grows, we are going to be forced to look at our supply chains and develop emerging organic suppliers all over the world.”

Okay. Let’s be real. When climate change makes the organic sh*t hit the fan (from dogs eating organic doggie biscuits), who loses? Is it those of us that shop at Whole Foods? No. No it is not.  Those of us in America will not be “forced” too do much radical changing, we won’t flee our homes like we’re climate refugees. Oh, maybe we’ll go without mangos and pay more for gas. But will we still think of ourselves as in control? Will we still not really understand that we’re living out a false sense of relationship with our Creator?

Thus, Davis says, we have to learn how to be creatures. Stop thinking of ourselves as running the show: confident, assured, and safe (100 points if you find all these terms in the Whole Foods bullet points).  Our faith helps us do this. And so this crisis is indeed environmental and religious, physical and spiritual. Knowing this, Davis concludes: “So our truly human work still lies ahead of us.”

What is that human work for you?