Socially Responsible Living – One Step Further
Recently, I had the pleasure of reading the book Shucked: Life on a New England Oyster Farm written by Erin Byers Murray. Erin and I were sorority sisters at Syracuse University. Erin, a former lifestyle editor at The Daily Candy, was (what I think) “living the life.” She got paid to dine at the finest restaurants and to check out the latest in spa treatments. With a lavish city life and an abundance of schmoozing at spectacular parties, she felt like something was missing.
Erin’s passion had always been food and she yearned to learn more about the culinary world, restaurants, and more importantly, where her food came from. Through a chance meeting with the owner of Island Creek Oyster Farm, located in Duxbury, MA, she was able to convince the farm crew to allow her to work with them for an entire year. She was determined to see just how much blood (literally), sweat, and tears went into the fine food she had dined on for so many years. She traded her stilettos for a rubber boots and pants and weathered all the hardships of an oyster farm.
The reason I want to shed light on this story is two-fold. One, I consider Erin a socially responsible person. She wanted to know where her food was coming from and understand the work and production behind the scenes. She asked lots of questions. Two, Island Creek Oyster is an example of a socially responsible company and is located just 5 short minutes away from my home. The company runs and maintains a sustainable oyster farm that not only improves upon the local environment and community, but serves restaurants across the country.
I’m not saying we should all quit our jobs and work on a farm (although I do daydream often), but I think we can start asking more questions about the products we use and the food we eat. I think being knowledgeable may help us feel more fulfilled in how we make our purchases -whatever they may be.
I highly recommend reading Shucked this summer and please check out other books listed on BiddingForGood’s summer reading list.