Before supermarkets, buying food was more personal. You went to the butcher, baker, produce stand, and local farms. Then supermarkets discovered that controlling distribution meant controlling the food system. Food shifted from flavor, nutrition, and freshness toward shelf life, transportation durability, appearance, and profit margins. When the mechanisms controlling how we access basic nutrition required to stay alive are determined by executives and algorithms, the likelihood that we’re being provided with the best possible food goes out the window. When profit incentives take precedence over our daily needs, it’s clear that we need to find better and healthier food alternatives than what we can get at the supermarket.
Y2T thought of the day: A peach that survives three warehouses and a cross-country truck ride probably wasn’t bred for flavor, it was bred to survive shipping and look pretty for the consumer. If you have the means, it’s always better to connect with your local CSA, farmers, and butchers to gain access to healthier produce, meats, and dairy.