Food Fills the Spirit
By Dr. Tom Hoban,
professor of sociology & food science, North Carolina State University

Food is essential for life—but it is so much more. Food is an intimate source of pleasure and comfort. Food provides strong cultural connections to our
ethnicity. Farmers and food companies that connect with consumers on more levels will be most successful.

People have strong social and emotional connections to food. Increasingly,
we view food as the one way we can exert control over our health and the
environment. Increasingly, we recognize how our food choices have social, economic and political effects.

I have spent 25 years in research and service to American farmers. During the '90s, I analyzed the impacts of GMOs (agricultural biotechnology)
and predicted the rapid rise of organic food. Like many other Americans, I have adopted a European, or “hip,” consciousness of food.

?Food increasingly fills the void modern life created as we moved away from the land. As dutiful consumers, we are conditioned to believe that buying something brings happiness. However, many also recognize the failure of material affluence to satisfy spiritual hunger. Once our bellies are over-full, we seek nurture for our souls through vicarious connections to the land and farmers.

Let me share a dinner conversation I had with '60s icon Wavy Gravy— known for proclaiming on stage at Woodstock, “What we have in mind is breakfast in bed for 400,000!” He fondly recalled the shock on kids’ faces as they were handed paper cups of previously untried yogurt (served plain) and homemade granola. Fringe ideas quickly become mainstream ideas (including vegetarianism).

Everything old is new again. Today’s hip views on food harken back to the Jeffersonian agrarian ideal of many small, independent farms serving their communities. Such farms are diversified, sustainable and connected to our lives. Food is no longer seen merely as fuel for our human machines.

Food often serves as a source of cultural identity. For almost a year, I have lived in Carrboro, N.C.—described as “The Paris of the Piedmont.” The Carolina Farm Stewardship Association just hosted its 13th annual farm tour—featuring 35 nearby farms. These farms and many others are connecting with consumers by selling high-value products through local farmers’ markets, restaurants and retailers in our community.

My teaching and research shows that many young consumers care deeply about food and farming. The same is true for all opinion leaders— folks with higher income and education— and they fit the demographics of hip, savvy shoppers.

Authenticity offers farmers and food companies a “Passport to Prosperity.” Consumers today are seeking authenticity in their food and are eating for fulfillment on many levels. Local farmers have always been the most credible and sought-after sources of sustenance for local communities. They can demonstrate to families and leaders that food does not just come from the grocery store. There is an opportunity to learn from models in North Carolina and around the world that locally grown food can successfully reconnect communities and agriculture.