Wendell Berry

According to Wendell Berry, there are two types of eaters. They can be distinguished as ‘Responsible eaters’ and ‘passive consumers’. Berry goes on to elaborate who passive consumers are and criticizes them of not being aware of how the food economy works. Passive consumers recognize what they want, and pay without thinking about critical questions such as the quality of the food, where it comes from, how much did manufacturing or packaging or advertising add to the cost or simply, the nutritional value of the food.

However, on the other hand, are the responsible eaters. According to Berry, to be a responsible eater, there is a list to relate to and that includes, participation in food production by growing your own food and appreciating its

growth. Also, preparing your own food as it will give a measure of quality control and cheaper methods to eat, learning the origins of the food you consume, dealing directly with the local farmer to eliminate other costs such as packaging or transportation costs, not paying for additions to the food such as chemicals or preservatives, learning about farming or gardening and finally, learning by direct observation and experience the life histories of the life species.
Berry considers himself as a responsible eater because he always encourages people to eat responsibly and claims to like to eat fruits and vegetables that he knows has been growing well. After writing Journal 1, and comparing myself to Berry’s theories, I would consider myself a mixture of both a passive consumer and a responsible eater. My consumption of food depends on my mood and time. If I don’t have much time to sit down and have a complete meal, I would simply grab something off the rack at a store and consume it without thinking of the critical questions that Berry talks about. In those terms, I classify as a passive consumer.
However, when it comes to meat, I do think about the quality and source so that I know that I am consuming healthy food. Even when I do my cooking, I buy organic vegetables so that I can contribute to a healthy consumption. As Wendell Berry states about industrial eaters, producers have made prepared food very easy to consume, that we have all become a part of the industrial eater cycle. As college students, we barely have the time to cook unless one indulges their time in cooking and loves to cook. This has made me think more about what I consume on a daily basis and makes me want to have a good balance of both cycles.