Grocery Shopping

I read an article about the system of food distribution and its hero image (above) really hits. Here we have a modern woman of the 1960s, loading groceries, child adjacent, just loving her life. Underneath the sepia is a ton of context: a car, that lipstick and its bow, carrots, the purse, but also candy, cereal, bread - a mix. Just based on history alone, whatever freedom was felt in this moment was balanced by opposing moments in nearby neighborhoods. And yet, there's nothing here to fault. This is a timeless encapsulation of what we think life will soon be like.

But there's a problem. Nope, not that problem, not 60s problems, we've totally solved those... The problem is that everything we build makes this picture less and less likely. The beauty of this moment is its locality. I feel (like deep down) that if she were to walk anywhere on that street, she'd be greeted. She'd be greeted with a hello, not because it's polite, not because she's beautiful, but because times were good. They were also bad, but they were good, there was hope. Things were new and exciting and we were the reason, and if nothing else, we agreed on that.

Then, maybe 20 years later, we discovered our love of mass production. Everything was accessible! Cars, bows, lipstick, purses, even carrots! They weren't good, but there were bows for everyone. The bow problem was solved. Then, maybe 20 years later, we realized there was a new problem - too many bows. Wherever the motivation for mass production was on the scale from philanthropic to economic, we did increase the standard of living. Sometimes it's more important for our poorest to have a bow than for all bows to be well-made. But in that drive for accessibility we created a new monster - the individual.

Today, you could walk into a grocery store, buy everything you need to sustain life, and walk out without human contact. The same could be said for most products and most stores. But is that good? I know it's cool that it exists but is it good? Does that directive march us towards sepia or oversaturation?

As with most things the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

I don't know why she's laughing but I know a person made her do it. Maybe her daughter said something cute about peppermints, maybe her husband accidentally left something in the car that only a wife would think was funny, I don't know. But I do know that that smile can't be caused by the nutritional value of Chex or the efficiency with which she shopped.

There's a piece of context we didn't talk about yet - this woman is working. Her time is not free, she's not recumbent; she's doing chores and parenting. And yet here she is, happy. So much of modern work is geared towards removing effort that it feels like true happiness can only be achieved when all obligation is gone. It's a very tidy view of life that doesn't leave much room for surprise.

If we want to be nuanced here we can talk about the true value of accessibility, about the world of good it's done for handicapped folks, the embarrassment it's saved people on EBT or assisted living, for rural people who just need that one spare part. Or the opposite, we could talk about the the toll that overconsumption takes on the mind, spirit, and body. But honestly, I have no desire to give health suggestions, even unqualified.

My only point in all this is that that smile came from interaction. You don't need to shop at a local grocery chain for that. You don't need organics for that. You should know what you're buying and where it comes from for other reasons, but regardless of the product in your hand, there's a person at arm's length. That 63 year old lady with her cart in the middle of the aisle knows which rice to buy. That check-out boy checking out that check-out girl will gladly help you load your bags. And that whiny 4 year old whose mother just unlocked her phone and handed it to him would love to know what that fruit with the spikes on it is.

But work awaits. Maybe you get clear value white bread, a jug of 0% fruit juice, check yourself out, and leave. Maybe that's all you have time for. Maybe that's just your day. But maybe, if that's all you do, there's a 0% chance that 60 years from now someone will look at a picture of you smiling near sepia carrots.