About twenty-five years ago, I had this "aha" moment that shook me to the core. I was living out in Minnesota, and had just been grocery shopping. I remember taking a can of tuna out of the bag, and having this moment of clarity: how was it humanly possible for this tuna to cost only a dollar? I mentally envisioned all the processes that went into it, from the building of the fishing boat, the production and purchase of fuel for the boat's engine, the production and purchase of nets, the hiring of experienced sailors and fishermen as well as workers at the fish processing and tin can-making plants, not to mention foresters downing trees to make paper labels, the production of ink, hiring the graphic designers to design the labels, the printing process, the canning and distribution processes, building and sustaining the corporate offices and employees of all the companies involved...Even given the fact that the fish give their lives "for free," I could not fathom how this one can could be so inexpensive. Over the years, my favorite businessmen tried to explain volume and efficiency to me, but I was never convinced. Twenty-five years later, it is still possible to purchase cans of tuna for a dollar. Incredible.
I think it was at that moment that I knew that something about this picture was unsustainable, and it is one of the many reasons I have found it so hard to fully engage in our economy since then. Something just seems "off." I don't know exactly what this has to do with everything that is happening in front of our eyes; it's just that I think there is a connection.
On this snowy March morning, I have done something I should have done much sooner, which is to make a promise to myself. This is not just about tuna, of course; whenever I purchase any of the relatively inexpensive staples of everyday life, from paper toweling to toothpaste to tuna to teabags, may I at least send a quiet word of thanks to the dozens, maybe hundreds or thousands, of people involved in their manufacture, many of whom must be woefully underpaid. And may I give thanks to Mother Earth who has freely given the raw materials. Who, I wonder, is "paying" her?
