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February 08 Corn-Free LentI decided to give up corn for Lent. Big deal, you might say. Who in New Jersey eats corn in winter anyway?
Here in New Jersey, we are darn proud of our corn and tomatoes. “Jersey Fresh” is such a wonderful counter-message to the usual branding of Jersey as Home of Tony Soprano, or Home of the Stinky New Jersey Turnpike. So we don’t eat corn in winter—we wait until July and August when it is sweet, crisp and hours off the vine if you buy it at your local farm stand—looking down our noses at any cheap substitute like canned or frozen corn, or corn shipped in from anywhere outside of The Garden State.
But, stars aligned last week, as I embarked on a business trip to Chicago and then on to San Franciso. I was involved in market research with doctors who treat diabetes—an illness that doctors say comprises of up to 30% of the patients they treat in primary care! That was Star #1.
Star #2 was the fact that I was wondering what to give up for Lent this year. I am very much a lapsed Catholic. I like to consider myself to be a more universalist Christian, with Buddhist leanings. But some habits die hard, and I still enjoy the spiritual discipline of Lent.
Star #3 was my walking into the newsstand in Terminal A in Newark and seeing the The Omnivore’s Dilemma had come out in paperback My daughter, an animal rights activist and vegan, had told me I should read Michael Pollan’s book, and it was on my wish list, but I had not gotten around to actually buying it. But it just leapt out at me, given it was now paperback and a few dollars cheaper and more travel-friendly.
I’m not going to divulge the thesis of the book or the beginning chapters, but by the time I was circling O’Hare, I felt I had to do something. That something had to do with corn, and eating less of it, as well as eating less of its derivatives. It’s really about taking a stand against the derivatives for the most part, and taking a stand against feeding animals this grain.
So as I thought about what to give up for Lent, I thought about the words of Isaiah:
“This, rather, is the fasting that I wish:
Releasing those bound unjustly,
Untying the thongs of the yoke;
Setting free the oppressed,
Breaking every yoke.”
So, with God endorsing Lent as an activist opportunity, I decided to give up corn (and its derivatives) for the 40+ days from Ash Wednesday to Easter.
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