18 Taking Stock
are hidden. Others we willfully ignore. Many we presume to control,
unsuccessfully.
Part IV is about choice. Heightened awareness is the first step in
dismantling well-worn justifications that perpetuate the failings of
the modern food system. Only when people recognize how individual
decisions culminate in collective results will we chart a new direction.
Ultimately, it is consumers—in this case eaters, which means all of us—
who can uniquely establish our next relationship with food.
The Grand Food Bargain is about one of our most fundamental
relationships, the forces that drive it, the consequences of our actions,
and, ultimately, the choices that only we can make. For many of us,
choices about food are reduced to decisions made in the supermarket.
Pasta or rice? Beef or chicken? Apples or bananas? So to begin our
exploration of where everyday choices are leading us, let’s start with the
humble banana.