The Body & The Earth
Food for Thought
Today’s Blog is Based off a Chapter in this book~
Before we dive into the ideas to be worked through in this piece, I want to be clear that I am not an expert. Just as we will be exploring complex ethical questions from differing viewpoints to hopefully reach a well thought out resolution through this medium, I continually find myself delving in and working through my own values, ethics and viewpoints. Many times over I have proven myself to be what all great thinkers would call “a dumbass.” I have my own ideals that many times I fail to live up to, and any overly generalized criticism of society and culture at large should be read with the understanding that is also a self criticism of my own character as I continue to move haphazardly forward through life trying to develop into a better, more thoughtful, and moral person. I’m better than what I was, but I’m a piece of work; So while working through this blog, recognize that I’m not trying to approach with a sense of self-righteousness, I’m simply a student. This is an introduction to the exploration of The Body & The Earth by Wendell Berry. In his writings we explore the thought of how we’ve arrived to our current point in a post-industrial society and what that means for who we are as people, and our relationship to the environment.
The Body & The Earth-Where are we?
Within the Zeitgeist of our age there appears to be an ever occurring since of continued division permeating all aspects of daily life. From a very wide-scoped view this is played out horrendously in the realm of politics and cultural division. From an individual perspective it seems that most people are conflicted with themselves more than at anytime before. There’s a constant call to enjoy each moment as it comes, to practice “self-care” (whatever the hell that means), and not to feel guilty about enjoying anything that momentarily makes us feel good, regardless of the cost (both economical and human). At the same time the general population is exposed more so than ever before to a very elite status of life that showcases the fruits of individuals who for one reason or another managed to play the economic game very well to their advantage. There’s no doubt that this has infected many with an unrealistic expectation of how individual life is to play out. We are shown and told that financial freedom looks like private charter jets, and multiple houses in very different locations, and that if we provide ourselves with enough monetary cushion there is the potential to engage in any imaginable form of hedonism without any consequences. The population has been given a glimpse into this world while that same population is put into the position of living in a rented single or double bedroom apartment that acts as a pit-stop between a low-paying job in ex-change for their very limited time, that simply cannot be valued in terms of money as there’s not a single person who has unlimited time. As people march forward within the game of this objective, all measure of their individual successes that could provide encouragement on their path forward receive ridicule from the overarching criticism of the societal ideal of the financial celebrity, and the longing for constant exotic entertainment to distract from the never ending cycle of work, pit-stop in bed, and work again. The only glimmer of hope for enjoyment coming from the easy dose of dopamine from the ever-present electronics or some form of substance use. The modern paradigm of existence has left a lot of people without meaning, hope, or optimism for a better tomorrow, and culturally we are self medicating.
The norm within this frame work is the cult of consumerism. That everything that has ever been marketed to us as “more efficient”, “more stylish”, “better” was marketed to us for the sole purpose to create discontent with wherever we are at, with whatever we have, and whoever we are with. The economy runs on discontent, and also creates it. Ironically, at the same time we find ourselves in an ecological crisis that only accelerates by our participation within the economy of discontent.
This fog and noise has given rise to two main viewpoints on human existence in relationship to our ecological womb.
1) That the human species has an inalienable right to move the economy forward in terms of complexity and growth, without concern or recognition of the ecological consequences. That humanity’s rightful place on the earth is to subdue and extract all things for the sake of perpetual economic growth with out concern of the unintended consequences.
2) That human existence is a tumor on the natural order, and that ecology would remain in better condition without people. That humanity is nothing more than a parasite and needs to be at the very least limited in its potential to grow and develop. That there is something inherently immoral about being human due to our consumptive nature and everything would be in a better position if there were simply less of us, or in some circles the Earth would be better off without people in general.
Both views seem to be limited, and come from a very delusional and harmful belief that humanity is somehow a completely different category than any other part of Earth’s ecology. Both views do not even give credence to the fact that people are part of the natural world in the first place. This is a dangerous perspective that can either lead to a belief that we are either god-like entities that can do no wrong, or that we are potentially worthless meat bags whose reproduction is a repulsive selfish endeavor. The criticism of these philosophies eventually leads to the question of Humanity’s role, activity, and limitations within the whole natural framework of the Earth. As Wendell Berry writes,
“The question of human limits, of the proper definition and place of human beings within the order of Creation, finally rests upon our attitude toward our biological existence, the life of the body in this world. What value and respect do we give to our bodies? What uses do we have for them? What relation do we see, if any, between body and mind, or body and soul? What connections or responsibilities do we maintain between our bodies and the earth? These questions are religious questions, obviously, for our bodies are part of the Creation, and they involve us in all the issues of mystery. But the questions are also agricultural, for no matter how urban our life, our bodies live by farming; we come from the earth and return to it , and so we live in agriculture as we live in flesh.”
The view of division, the idea that somehow humanity in an of itself is somehow separate from the workings of the natural order in part stem from the idea that there is also some degree of separation between “myself” (character, soul, self identity) and my “body.” That these two aspects of my existence are somehow not one of the same, that fullness of my personhood is not the mystical union of mind, body, and soul. That somehow my soul is more “me” than any other part of me. And this further leads to more separation from where one’s mental health is further segregated from their general health. That we have come to a point within our culture where material and substance is thoroughly segregated from those parts of ourselves which are not material, that there is no mystical union or completion to be had of our “true selves”, and our bodies, and ultimately the physicality of our location.
In short, in the age of specialization and segregation we have led ourselves down the road to where we believe we are segregated from ourselves, creating a longing for a home to nest in that we cannot recognize.
A Short Note-
This concludes the introduction of the main ideas within The Body & the Earth. In the coming weeks we will continue to explore these thoughts, next week continuing into how the modern age has inflicted Division within the realms of Sex, and the Home and how that correlates with our understanding of the division between Humanity and the Natural Order. If you have any questions or thoughts feel free to contact Andrew, and he’ll try to respond as best as he can.
~Recipe~
Bacon Carbonara (Non-Traditional Recipe)
Ingredients:
1 box of Spaghetti or preferred pasta
Shredded or freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/2 pound or more of Bacon (cut up)
1/2 yellow onion
1-2cups of fresh or frozen peas
4 eggs
1/3 of a pint of heavy cream
Good Black Pepper
Kosher Salt to taste
The Process~
I started off by cutting up my bacon into pieces and putting in a pan at medium high heat. While that started cooking I took my onion, and diced it up and added it to bacon.
While the bacon and onions cooked I started the pasta in a large pot of heavily salted water, following the suggested cooking instructions on the pasta box. As the onions grew more in transparency I turned the heat down and added my frozen peas, and covered with a lid to encourage steam to cook the peas.
While the bacon, peas, onions cooked, I prepped the sauce.
The basis of all carbonara sauce is eggs, and in this recipe heavy cream. I added the eggs to the cream and whisked it all together until fully incorporated. Following the whisking, I added about 3/4 of a bag of shredded parmesan cheese, and generous amounts of black pepper.
This is the color and consistency that you should shoot for.
Once that was all mixed up and ready to go, my pasta was finished. and I added it with tongs from the pot to the pan with the bacon, onions and peas.
How everything should look after cooking before adding the pasta.
Once the pasta was added, I tossed the mixture all together and removed from the heat. This is very important for the next step. Once removed from the heat I continued to toss the pasta while adding the egg and cream mixture. The goal is to have your pasta warm enough to cook the egg mixture and melt the cheese, but not hot enough so as to scramble the eggs. The end result is a wonderfully rich and creamy sauce that is so simple and easy, and can be used for all occasions. If your sauce is too runny, add more cheese, if its too heavy add some pasta water.
Plated Up
Thank you for Checking out this Blog! If you have any questions, or would like to share a recipe feel to contact Andrew! Your support of this Farm and it’s work are so much appreciated~ be sure to check out the online farm store to see what we have for you~ Much Thanks & Peace- Andrew