Amanda Woolard - 2021

Artist's Statement

For my final project, I wrote a poem on something everyone loves, food! It shares my personal story of discovering food allergies to corn and soy, which are in the majority of packaged or prepared foods. Before this class, I did not realize the government subsidized these foods, making them cheap and easy to use in unhealthy ways. 

Because I have always lived in a farming community, I wanted people to see that the farmers are not to blame for wanting to feed their own families. They struggle to make ends meet a lot of the time. They need to be able to afford planting other crops. Doing so will use less nitrogen, which will benefit the health of the soil, community, and world. 

Food Affects Us All

I.

The sun’s first blush on the 
skyline brings men to rise
just before the rooster
has started his harsh cries.

Sweat dripping down faces
in the blazing hot sun,
farmers break their backs and   
don’t stop ‘til they’re done.

They plow into twilight
to provide a living, 
but it’s not just the produce 
that they are giving.       

Dust swirls in the air.
remnants of days before
when men wanted money
and conjured a storm. 

A desire for more
sends farmers to Power
to plant soy, wheat, and corn
for bountiful flour.     

Without rotation of
the monoculture crops,
they deplete soil health 
but can’t afford to stop. 

More fertilizer is 
needed to help crops grow 
which means there are more
reactions with N2O. 

Nitrogen in the dirt, 
fertilizer’s not deep, 
swept away with the rain, 
polluting nearby creeks.

N20 is deadly.
Emissions kill coral,
Glaciers soften slowly.
This shift is now normal. 

II.

Doctors stab my bare back—
needles hot as the sun—
“You have been sick for months.
that can’t have been much fun.” 

“Hold still for a second
while we get your results.” 
Paying someone to stick
me feels like an insult.

I’m allergic to eating.
some foods I must avoid— 
But soy, corn, and dairy! 
My lifestyle is destroyed.  

How am I to survive
in a nation where food
is pre-prepped and packaged?
What’s my diet to include

III.

Standing at the small store.
I cling to the cart, and
go about my business,
short shopping list in hand.    

I prided myself on
shopping with meager funds—
in days before I knew—
prepping now left me stunned.

The titles of these foods
are difficult to find.
It’s not just corn, milk, soy—    
They are called by all kinds.

“It shouldn’t be that hard,”
I chide myself to move,
fearfully staring down
the long aisles of food.

I pick up bottles of 
ketchup, relishes, sauce
medicine, granola—
Each, in turn, I must toss.

Bread and chocolate chips
Cereal and dressings—
The entire store full—     
It’s rather depressing.

If it doesn’t contain
any milk, soy or corn, 
it’s listed at a price
to make poor people mourn.

IV.

Calendar pages whir.
I am figuring out how
basic ingredients
are rescuing friends now. 

Store prices soar for fresh 
food that won’t make me ill.
So, I’ll grow things on my 
own learning some new skills.

Then, I’ll pluck plump peas, 
adoring their crisp green smell,
staining both my hands,
causing my pride to swell. 

Fresh fruits and vegetables
warmed by the baking sun—
viewing this in my yard,
tradition has begun. 

What I cannot grow I’ll
buy from a farmer’s hand,
convincing more to join
to help the farmer stand.

If others would plant their food
in garden beds at home,   
farmers would not have to till 
the ground with their giant combs. 

Fields of soy, corn, and wheat
change crop picks much better
without forcing farmers
to become large debtors.

With help, they can produce
healthy choices and live
without Power telling
them what to plant and give.