The Stampede of Modernity — On Our Food, Our Minds, Our Lives, Our ALL
Tradition and history almost always have important lessons to teach us, and if we are willing to listen, we might just notice that they have a quiet, yet clear and distinct voice. But, neither Tradition nor history force themselves upon us. Once they have been forgotten or lost, they often have to be discovered, or even re-discovered, although they have always patiently been there. Conversely, modern innovations and innovators are usually noisy, loud and aggressive; bursting upon our senses (our very eyes, ears, minds and hearts); demanding our immediate and utmost attention, and often, even our loyalties.
Now, history is not always good, and Modernity is not always bad. But, there is at least one instance in which I can unreservedly say that history and Tradition were good for us, whereas Modernity has been bad — And, this instance applies to the food we eat.
Today, those who live in America and in the Westernized nations around the globe are sick with an endlessly long list of chronic diseases. Heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity top the list — but the list goes on and on. It seems to be an odd paradox, doesn’t it? We live in lands replete with technologically advanced Medicine, we appear to have beautifully laid out foods on clean supermarket shelves, and we have more money to spend on food relative to most people in the world. Why then, are we sick?
Ah! Perhaps we are sick because in this case, the literal stampede of Modernity has come home to roost and fully to take its toll. High levels of chronic disease in Westernized nations are the final symptom of an underlying problem. And, the problem is this: Decades of over-consumption of fast, over-processed, and largely Industrialized foods, coupled with our stress-filled, breathless lifestyles have hollowed us out (sometimes, both physically and emotionally) and depleted our ability to resist disease — And, this is one case where nothing short of a return to Tradition will remedy the crisis.
Traditional, un-tampered, locally grown whole foods sustained generation upon generation for millennia. Yet, in the most recent century, food took on a completely novel character. The ubiquitous and attractive ads for juicy hamburgers and fat-laden pizzas victoriously erased our memories of simple, but nourishing home-made meals; factory-produced and “techno-foods” even appeared insidiously to alter our taste-buds to such an extent that we actually desired to eat them. And, this went on, and on. Fast forward to today, and we find that modern, refined/processed and Industrialized foods have triumphantly all but drowned our connection to the past — and with it, our memory of the way we once used to eat and live.
But, enough. The price we have paid for Modernity in this instance has been too heavy, and our losses, too high, even inestimable. It’s time to turn off the blaring noise of Modernity, and to bring back into our lives some of the riches of Tradition. Loud commercials will continue ad nauseum to entice us to eat the very foods that have nearly destroyed us — it is up to us to turn them off. And, it’s time to re-discover and get re-acquainted with pure, life-giving and life-sustaining whole foods — to taste them again, and remember what we have missed. What we have missed is our health, our sustenance, and in essence, our very well-being which derives life and nourishment directly from the purity and quality of the foods we eat.
Make no mistake — choosing between Tradition and Modernity in this case is not a matter of mere taste or preference. If that were so, I would not have bothered to write this article. But, the matter is much more serious — It is about choosing between health and sickness; in fact, between life and death itself.
If you are reading this, there is still time… and the power to choose resides with you. Use it well.
