We all have to start somewhere

It's summer in New Jersey, so the strawberries are ready. We had strawberry shortcake for dessert one night last week. Our own strawberries, grown right next to the house, totally organic, local, seasonal. And on top, Cool Whip. Not even close to organic, totally processed. It made me wonder about this food thing we're trying to do. What good is it to know where your food's coming from, if you keep eating Cool Whip?

Then, interesting news from Whole Foods today. They're not going to sell live lobsters anymore, because they can't be sure the lobsters don't feel pain or distress in transit or in their tanks.

I must admit, my gut reaction was a large dose of skepticism. They're still going to sell dead lobsters (frozen, etc.), and they sell dead chickens, dead fish... you get the idea. [In the interest of full disclosure, I'm a tuna-tarian -- mostly vegetarian, but I eat fish.] So I'm not sure exactly how Whole Foods not selling live lobsters is going to do much -- the lobsters are still going to end up dead, one way or another. So someone else does them in before they get to Whole Foods -- big deal.

But then I thought about it some more. OK, so people who want to eat lobster are still going to eat it. But, as little a step as it may be, Whole Foods has taken a small step toward making sure that the food in its stores is not only grown in a way that's better for the planet and us, but also treated in a way that's more humane (I know, there's a whole other post in the irony of nice, kind behavior being called "humane," given how we treat each other).

Jewish tradition teaches that though we are not expected to finish the work of repairing the world, we still have do our share. So today, strawberries and live lobsters. Tomorrow, we'll take another step.