Whatever your position on the current Occupy Wall Street movement, one cannot help but be impressed by the protest’s development thus far. Many are skeptical about the movement’s aims, which seem, as the New York Times describes them, “free-form, improvisatory and contradictory.” To briefly summarize, the movement addresses corporations’ transgressions against the American public. Occupy Wall Street’s declaration does attempt to clarify specific aims for the protests, but many fear the protest is still directionless.

I am increasingly interested in the role that food is playing in the movement. The OWS declaration specifically addresses the reclamation of the food system in their declaration, stating, “corporations have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization.” Many protestors have demonstrated their dedication to reforming the food industry by eating only what is cooked themselves or donated from local businesses. It seems logical for protestors to demonstrate ethical food practices, as it signifies the direction that they hope the country will move in hereafter – for example, one protestor told the New York Times, “I feel we’re all moving toward a small-farm economy.”

Disappointingly, many protestors are forgoing cooking for fast and cheap food options such as McDonalds. Vendors and local business owners around Zuccotti Park have suffered from a decrease in revenue due to the crowds. What is most astonishingly is that two days ago, Ben & Jerry’s issued a statement of support for OWS, which has up until this point claimed to be a “leaderless resistance movement” with an anti-corporate stance. Protestors were seen happily chowing down on free pints of B&J ice cream. Unfortunately, the lack of consensus on this issue may dilute the movement’s message.

I think food could potentially be used as a potent weapon in this movement to exposes America’s severe wealth inequalities. After all “obesity is the #1 indicator of economic status” (fact from Food Inc.). It seems this would be a great opportunity for Americans to address the corporate influence in the food system. Protestors should be cognizant of their actions and the movement’s ultimate goals. I personally hope that this movement will gain the direction and cohesiveness necessary to make fundamental changes to the American food industry.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/12/occupy-wall-street-food_n_1007172.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/12/dining/protesters-at-occupy-wall-street-eat-well.html?ref=food&pagewanted=all