We believe that breaking bread with others is a profound act. Perhaps even sacred.
Much of our work in farming is organized and motivated around this value.
First of all, we believe that eating is an incredibly important human action that should not be overlooked or rushed past. It is a daily reminder of our humanity. I am often very guilty of neglecting this activity. If it were not for my wife I would often forget meals and regularly do the bare minimum in preparing food. The problem is that I get distracted with other things.
But I see that as a flaw in myself. Because we are eating beings. Eating is one of the most fundamental features of who we are. Without participating in the eating process we very quickly cease to exist. Eating and existence go hand and hand. They are in a way inseparable. Which means if I neglect eating I neglect my humanity and risk losing myself.
Now it is true that I could devote the bare minimum of energy and time to the necessary act of eating. But perhaps by doing that, I am also devoting the bare minimum to existing. Perhaps I get "more" done, but perhaps that "more" is not actually as important as what could be gained by a good meal shared with loved ones.
So I know that it can be hard to prioritize thoughtful eating. Thankfully I married a woman who is wiser then me.
But back to the main thread—eating is perhaps not only a reminder of our humanity, but humanity itself. Perhaps eating IS humanness…
Computers don’t eat.
Machines don’t eat.
Rocks don’t eat.
Animals do eat.
But animals don’t cook.
Only humans cook and eat.
You might remember that we’re not just talking about eating, but about breaking bread with others. Which is to say, sharing a meal of food that is particularly man made: bread.
So eating separates us from inert things like rocks and machines and computers. We are fundamentally NOT like them. It also differentiates us from spirits and ideas and concepts. Those things don’t have bodies that need sustaining—so they don’t eat. We are fundamentally not like them either.
Animals do eat. So at first blush we are like them. But they don’t cook. So sharing a cooked meal differentiates us from them as well.
But this is not all that is happening when we break bread with others. We are not JUST eating. A meal is also a social activity. And our relationality is also an important feature of our humanity. Without our relationships, we are very likely insane, unhealthy, and unhappy.
We are meant to be in relationships and we suffer when we neglect them. You might say our humanity depends on healthy relationships and a healthy social network.
Our eating and our relationships sustain us. There are very few things that are so foundational to our continued existence.
It is easy to get caught up in the pursuit of many things. After all, another feature of our humanity is our goal orientation. But that feature of ourselves needs tempering. Exactly what we set our sights on really matters. Some pursuits ARE better then others. Some goals end in our own destruction.
When we break bread with others, we are sharing in the mutual delight and sustainment of human life. We are feeding each other and sharing in that necessary process. We are also sustaining human relationships. These relationships are in turn the foundation of community and the root of civilization. Personal relationships are the core of humanity writ large. When we bread bread together with others, we are building up the very social fabric of our world.
Breaking bread together with others is a single act that is fundamental to all of what it is to be human.
When you neglect it, you neglect your humanity. When you are “too busy” you are at some level valuing something above humanness and humanity. Which might be fine. But might also be horrible. What exactly is more important then humanity? That would be for you to decide. But be careful here, because almost everything might depend how you organize your values and what you neglect or attend to.
I submit that to neglect the integrity of your body and the social fabric you depend on is self destructive.
As a farmer I must also suggest that sustaining your humanity through the sharing of food which was produced in a way that destroys natural ecosystems (which also sustain us) is confused and contradictory. It would be like kicking out one leg of your stool while reinforcing the others.
Far better would be to gather with loved ones, and share food that also brought health and vitality to the ecosystems that we depend on. This can be done by sourcing your food very carefully from farmers who are mindful of such things. It may not be the cheapest option, but since when was a cheap meal more important than the health of something that is foundational to your existence?
If you can by a single act, sustain and strengthen three of the most foundational elements of your very being, why wouldn’t you? Is all that other stuff you’re doing that keeps you busy really more important?
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