Food for Thought

 In cases of controversial activism, a particular story of vegan proportions caught my attention.  Keith McHenry is considered by our government to be worthy of FBI investigation under the premise of terrorism due to his participation with and founding of a non violent, vocal organization Food not Bombs (R1).  This organization was founded during the 1980’s in Cambridge, Ma by a group of anti-nuclear activists advocating the redirection of military expenses toward lessening food scarcity across the globe.  The focus is on veganism shedding light onto the fact that vegan style foods are less resource intensive than animal based products. 

     With a focus centered on the redistribution of wealth and food, volunteers of Food not Bombs organize and pick up what would have been discarded foods to create hot vegan meals and distribute them, in outdoors public without discrimination of who is allowed to eat.  “Food Not Bombs was founded upon the belief that conditions of scarcity impede cooperation among different groups competing for a share of finite resources  (1).”   And so, to impress this upon America as well as locations across the world- volunteers feed us.  Several of these volunteers have been arrested in the city of San Francisco for not simply the failure to have proper food permits, but on deeper charges of terrorism.  McHenry has been arrested over 100 times and under California’s 3 strikes you’re out program he was sentenced to serve 25 years to life.  Public upset and an upheaval of outcry from movement organizations convinced a reversal and the drop of all charges.  How does this happen?  How are laws used against organized public groups and individuals to create criminal allegations of capacity rather than of action?

     “Food Not Bombs maintains the philosophy that an abundance of food simultaneously nourishes anti-war activists and reduces the overall likelihood of conflict among groups with insufficient resources (1).”  It is the vocalization of opposition to military spending that creates hostility from the local government and it is in retaliation that charges are drawn that have substantial collateral recoil throughout our society.  This behavior seems quite common to a woman like me, that an attitude would arise, one of hostility toward anti-conformity, one with regulated statues of identity and role in a wide variety of arenas – would come from positions of authority such as the police and the military.

     In the case of rescue and aid for Natural Disasters, Food not Bombs has provided sustenance for survivors as well as fellow civic workers needed for rescue efforts.   In many cases, such as the 1989 earthquake, both the Asian Tsunami and Katrina, as well as on September 11th at the World Trade Center. they have been the first to arrive providing food and supplies to the survivors (1). I think that if civic duty, responsibility and prompt response equate to terrorism, then our laws are flawed and its entire system of policy and origin should be re-established under the new light of modernity.  

Reference

All-volunteer, Anti-nuclear activists. Food Not Bombs is an. “THE FOOD NOT BOMBS STORY.” THE FOOD NOT BOMBS MOVEMENT. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Aug. 2011.