(Written last night as the election results poured in…)

As I sit here watching the returns with guarded optimism, I consider the role food plays in politics. In 2004 John Kerry came to south Philly and ordered a cheese steak with provolone. You don’t do that, and Kerry was mocked on the local news. While he still won Pennsylvania, he lost the election, and I think the cheese steak gaffe was a turning point for many voters. It showed that his food choices that day were a gesture, an attempt to make a connection with a certain type of voter, and he failed miserably.

That we feel such a cultural connection to what we eat allows food to play a part in our political sphere. Food is an entry point for politicians. When they eat your sandwich, drink your beer, slurp your soup, they convey their humanness, and their ability to relate to you, your needs and concerns in the world.

Beyond the two-year campaign that ends today, and the countless meals eaten by the candidates, the next president is in a position to play a defining role in the future of our food system. Earlier this year congress passed the farm bill, which will likely remain in effect for 5-7 years. The scope of the farm bill is immense and its implications are major, as it dictates, in large part, what crops are planted, what we learn and teach in schools about health and nutrition and what resources are available for the poor.

Despite its extensive impact on many aspects of our lives, most Americans do not know much about the farm bill, and while many activists praised some elements of this year’s version, there is still tremendous room for improvement, in particular around issues of land conservation and sustainable agriculture.

Hazon and the Jewish Farm School have teamed up to launch the Shmita Project, which, in addition to encouraging the Jewish community to think in terms of seven year goals, and to explore the ways the values and lessons of Shmita can be incorporated into our lives, also asks us to educate ourselves about our nation’s agricultural and food policies and to understand the Farm Bill through a Jewish lens. What does the farm bill look like when it is informed by the Jewish value of using food as mechanism for social justice, or honors our mandate to work and to protect the earth?

This process begins with discussion and debate about these policies, and not just in the year in which it comes before congress, but in the years leading up to that point. If we are going to solve some of the root problems of our national eating disorder, it’s going to take a lot of thought and creative thinking. Most importantly, our politicians need to know that we, the general public, care about these issues. We recognize their impact on our lives, our neighborhoods, cities and country. Begin now by reading the background information we have on the Shmita Project website.

Perhaps, if we are successful, by the next election cycle politicians will be eating fresh produce grown on the white house farm and disucssing the benefits of kim chi to show that they can relate to the voters.