Naked Lunch

NAKED LUNCH

Most of the food Americans consume is junk. Drained of vitamins and nutrients and shot-full of preservative poison by greedy little men sitting on the upper floors of huge corporate conglomerates, constantly searching for ways to chemically cheapen food production at the expense of people's bodies -- including their own. Nutritionally valueless pure starch white bread (helps break strong bodies 12 ways), canned vegetables, cheeseburgers, salad dressings -- nearly all processed food reeks of everything from cancer-causing additives to radioactivity. And all this SKONK is in turn plastic-wrapped and sold to us in neat little rows at exorbitant prices by rip-off Supermarkets or flashed to us in neon by road-side stands, where 39 cents buys a small circIe of ground death.

As an alternative to the Amerikan Food Monster and as a step towards self-determination (separation from the Beast), communities across the country are banding together in Food Cooperatives, supplying pure healthy food at wholesale prices to families and communes. Co-ops have recently been formed in Berkeley, Isla Vista, Eugene, Madison, Milwaukee and recently in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Getting one together is fairly simple. Every major city has a large outdoor wholesale market where farmers bring large quantities of fresh produce for sale to small grocery stores and individuals at prices usually half those you'll find at the local A and P. All it takes is a good-sized van or truck and a few able-bodied early risers. Gather money from the houses that want to participate, get a general idea of what people want (you can usually only manage fruits and vegetables to start with) and truck on down to your local wholesale market, which usually functions at its peak in the wee morning hours. Get some cartons and bags together, and divide the loot up when you get home. After you get the process down pat, it's possible to begin thinking about getting into grains. dairy products, bio-degradable soaps, and other serve the people products.

Photo by David Fenton