用食物建立联系
食物将人们紧密相连。 在危地马拉的特克潘留学期间,我感受到了在美国从未体验过的人们对家常菜和当地食物的重视。
United States, Northern America
Story by Sidra Kennedy. Edited by Vivian Jieluan Chen. Translated by Cassie Dai
Published on October 22, 2020.
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我在危地马拉寄宿家庭的妈妈正拿着一把生玉米面团[1],把它揉成小圈,做成玉米饼。我一边在炉子上煎香蕉,一边称赞她。初次见面的第二天,我们就都在做早餐,但仍未进行过一次双方都能听懂的对话。为了让我搞清我要做什么,她还要亲自给我演示如何翻香蕉。现在,我们一块做饭,我能更好地明白她的意思了。
我在北美文化背景下长大,通常食物被认为是一种必需品,但并非是关系建立的源头。然而,我意识到几乎每一种文化和传统都以食物为核心。食物将人们紧密相连。在危地马拉的特克潘留学期间,我感受到了在美国从未体验过的人们对家常菜和当地食物的重视。在特克潘当地有一个市场,商贩们每天都来这里出售他们的产品。在周日和周四,市场占据了整个城镇,挤满了来自周边城镇的小贩。我在那群人堆里经常找不到我身高不到一米五三的寄宿妈妈。我们每天都去同一个摊子。我的寄宿妈妈和她认识的当地农民聊天,仔细地挑选着最好的农产品。粮食产量每周都有变化。农产品的选择随季节而变化。每次回家,我们都带着不同的食物做家常菜。
我立刻就喜欢上了当地市场的新鲜食物。后来,我明白了,这种食品销售模式比伴随我长大的杂货店更有利于环境。在北美的杂货店里,货架上堆满了水果和蔬菜,无论什么季节,数量几乎都是一样的。转基因和大量的进口让我们在每年的任何时间都能生产出这些“完美”的食物。这两种食物生产模式都对我们的环境有害。在特克潘体验的非转基因作物勾起了我对美国饮食中所有转基因作物的好奇。
我了解到转基因作物是人为基因改造过的作物。转基因生物具有人为设计的理想特征,例如在长途运输过程中能保持外观不变并持久保鲜。虽然这些特性使得水果可以在杂货店里买到,但转基因生物也可能需要使用破坏生态系统的农药。大量进口还会消耗大量的化石燃料,并会破坏国内农业。[2]
在危地马拉生活的两个月里,关于食物的各种想法萦绕着我。通过自学当地农业到烹饪再到与寄宿家庭建立关系,我见证了食物是如何将人们联系在一起,又是如何破坏我们环境的。但是,在特克潘,我看到,为人们提供好的食物并不一定会对环境有害。为了维护饮食文化,我们必须努力使粮食系统立足于当地的生态系统和传统,减少对农药、化石燃料和转基因生物的依赖。现在我回到北美,通过购买新鲜的当地食物,以及和周围的人一起烹饪美味佳肴,在某种程度上我继续延续着与危地马拉寄宿家庭所建立的美好联系。
[1]玉米面团是将玉米碾碎,用来制作玉米饼、chuchitos(类似于包子的一种食物)和其他危地马拉传统食物。
[2]欲了解更多关于转基因生物和全球粮食系统的信息,请查阅:世界粮食安全委员会的《转基因作物:希望的种子还是欺骗?》”(http://www.fao.org/cfs/home/blog/blog-articles/article/en/c/1104228/);联合国粮农组织“农业生物技术”(http://www.fao.org/biotech);La Via Campesina食品主权运动(https://viacampesina.org/en/);非洲粮食主权联盟(https://afsafrica.org/);Pamela Ronald和Raoul Adamchak合著的《明天的桌子》(纽约:牛津大学出版社,2008)
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