Food Not Bombs – Looking for the Order in AnarchyEssay Preview: Food Not Bombs – Looking for the Order in AnarchyReport this essayThomas A. Jeremiah05-08-2007ANTH 315 M-W-F @12:30Professor Julia YezbickFood Not Bombs:Looking For the Order in AnarchyAs a student of anthropology I am naturally fascinated by the order of groups and societies. In the spring semester of 2007 I was charged with the responsibility to create an ethnography over the course of the semester. The end goal of my studies at Virginia Commonwealth University is to attempt to facilitate international aid organizations in their interactions with native populations. Between the assignment I was to complete, and the goals of my education, I came to the decision to center my ethnography on one volunteer groups methods and motivations. After an awkward rebuff from the charitable group Meals on Wheels I turned my attention to the group known as Food not Bombs. My assertion from the beginning of this project was that there are characteristics among Food not Bombs participants, that are common to all, and their motivations are shaped by those commonalities. I also supposed that through a study of this group, with a subsequent ethnography, I could help Food not Bombs asses the effectiveness of its recruiting strategies, repeat participation among its volunteers, and the organizations capacity to feed the hungry in their community.
But who is Food not Bombs? “Food Not Bombs is one of the fastest growing revolutionary movements and is gaining momentum throughout the world. There are hundreds of autonomous chapters sharing free vegetarian food with hungry people and protesting war and poverty. Food Not Bombs is not a charity. This energetic grassroots movement is active throughout the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. Food Not Bombs is organizing for peace and an end to the occupations of Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine. For over 25 years the movement has worked to end hunger and has supported actions to stop the globalization of the economy, restrictions to the movements of people, end exploitation and the destruction of the earth.
Food Not Bombs is a grassroots organization, engaged in organizing its own communities, taking its message and actions around food. Through their actions Food Not Bombs fights to make sure that America has a food based economy, and to develop a sustainable approach to a food economy where all families, communities, and individuals can enjoy food with dignity, access to nutritious food, and food-based education. Their online group is the only organization in the world that is fighting for real, sustainable change in government. Their Facebook page is www.facebook.com/foodnotabank. And their website is www.femtol.org. Our members and staff support the causes of hunger, poverty, and the human cost of food. When the last hunger strike was held in Paris, more than a thousand people were arrested, many on land grabs or the cover of hunger strikes. These protests had nothing to do with food, but instead were just the result of the actions of food critics and the food system’s inability ever to do the things food advocates demanded. There has never been a food bank in our country that has managed to make food for 99% of the American population affordable, or put food in their mouths for healthy feed that could support a healthy life. Food not bombs has been used by hunger strikers as a tool of resistance as well as by nonviolent activists. There has been much more to food not bombs than most people make out of it, and we want to show that it’s right for everyone to use it as a tool to fight for and against governments and oppression. When you see one person standing at the end of the line on Food Not Bombs, it is like walking into what the food not bomb people are trying to do: Take a chance and get your hands on food and go about your shopping.
