Points were raised in the initial discussion about what we (humans) in our (human-centric) point of view consider to be ‘good’ and ‘bad’ life, how to tell otherwise hidden environmental/social (meta)stories about food, and how we might resolve some of the issues around existing power structures and economic incentives.
In an attempt to investigate more-than-human issues around competition and make inter-relationships more apparent, we explored the creation of food policy from the perspective of a non-charismatic animal. Something generally considered to be a pest.
“How do we, as the egocentric creatures that we have trained ourselves to be, arrive at even a possibility for multi-species food policy, what does that look like?”
– Responding Participant from “Chicken or Egg”
What would food policy look like if it was made by slugs? What if advocates for the slugs were tasked with negotiating a trade deal with the other species to which they relate? Would the slugs be able to maintain a long-term strategic outlook?
This is not to seriously entertain having policy designed by and for slugs, or to say that these issues must have an economic resolution. Although economic measures are an obvious tool, there may be alternative ways as well. Our slug-based food policy is an exercise in inhabiting a different perspective, and seeing what light taking a slug’s perspective might shine on our very human-centric assumptions and points of view.
