fermentation is my new crush

contaminating purity culture

hello all,

one food i could not stomach when i was young was sauerkraut. i still wave my hand in horror and say, “ugh, i hate sauerkraut” when someone mentions reuben sandwiches. it’s tied back to two memories from my childhood school cafeteria (and no, it isn’t fair that any food should ever be banished from one’s diet due to association with mass cafeteria production.) that part of the brain that is stuck on “NOOOOO!” is one memory involved vomiting in the hallway and a strong sour aroma. i’m pretty sure it wasn’t the sauerkraut’s fault. i was not feeling well that day, but the smell is forever linked to childhood embarrassment in front of peers.

we never ate strongly fermented foods in my “english” immigrant home (insert your favorite joke about english cooking here.) actually, i take that back, my father loved pickled onions, (but what kid likes those? well, not this one anyway.) and we ate our share of chutney. so at least my understanding of what “fermented food” means is wrapped around “the kraut.”

anyway, i start with this meandering childhood story because i always tell folks how much i dislike “fermented stuff” not really giving it another thought. a sip of kombucha, no thanks. but as i invite myself to question my beliefs and perspectives as i follow these dandelion seeds moving me through the world, along came a podcast that dovetailed with another area i’ve been pondering: how does the desire to obtain “purity” separate us from the rest of our environment. in losing our sense that we humans are forever entangled with every other being on this planet, we become more and more vulnerable to believing we can step away from all that is unfolding around us, as if these entanglements do not impact us and we do not impact them. hmmm, i almost want to go off on a tangent about how we sometime engage with folks with advanced dementia as if their understanding of the world around them is inconsequential and what we say around/to them has no impact…see, it all reverberates. (bring it back, anne.)

the last few years i’ve read books, listened to podcasts, signed up for webinars and watched films on how Trees, Mycelia, Mosses, Spiders, and other beings of this Earth are entangled with one another. how intricately necessary it is to be a part of, not a part from each other. humans seem to be the one species that chose to separate from the entanglement…or at least the perception that we were are above the fray and in control. (yes, there are theological reasons for this, which have long histories of exegesis and debate which is not for this post.)

anyhow along comes the december 6th for the wild podcast with guest Sandor Ellix Katz on Cultures of Fermentation, which offered yet another way of looking at how we are all intradependent. (also referenced was this Emergence Magazine interview, Fermentation as Metaphor, from October 2020.) introduced to the process of fermentation (i was clueless!) i discovered that it has been around 100s and 1000s of years, winds through most cultures, and is one of the safest way to preserve food. i also found out just how many foods i eat/drink are fermented. hello chocolate and coffee and cheese!

there is a lot i am still “digesting” from katz’s conversations. that fermentation is contamination. is about breaking down veggies, fruits, other certain plants to create some new food through a “cold boil.” the process of fermentation creates an environment where microorganisms will create a new form. you can see this through the bubbles. nothing is “pure” in the fermentation process. it needs microorganisms to transform. (and please feel free to comment if i have messed up descriptions of fermentation. i haven’t actually tried it yet, so this is what i have gleaned from the interviews.)

pacific nw mushrooms in the wild. photo by anne richardson

i have been in environments where “purity” was emphasized. of course, being in healthcare settings for several years as a chaplain, frequent hand washing, constant use of hand sanitizers, gloves/gowns, and other protective rituals were important, but in our society’s fear of bacteria and other microscopic organisms, we have transferred those focused rituals into generalized and obsessive purity worship, separating us from our grounded, entangled environments.

perhaps it makes sense in hospitals and other healthcare establishments to work toward reducing “germs” (i.e. as close to a “pure” environment as possible.) but i’ve been told as a women to “be good.” to “be nice.” to strive for purity. look to the women martyrs. december 13th was Saint Lucia’s (St. Lucy) Day…she was martyred in part due to her “pure devotion to god.” pious women are the ones to be emulated. raised up as exemplary. as i age, i prefer the ones who are contaminated. who have fermented. bubbled up and mixed it up with their environment. transformed themselves and the world around them. and yes, there is more to unpack, but for now, i’ll leave this here.

taking fermentation to a metaphorical level, in his book, Fermentation as Metaphor, katz says,

"In our human societies, this idea of protecting the purity of our society against the contamination of outside ideas is well, it's been weaponized, really. The way people project fear of the quote "other" has been such a theme throughout human history…” from october 2020 emergence magazine interview.

if you breathe in 100% (pure) oxygen for too long it will kill you? if we squash ideas and don’t allow for the “contamination” of other or fresh ideas, we will keep “othering” each other. we certainly seem to be on that path, unable to see differing opinions or views as possibilities or even transformational. and from what little i understand about the fermentation process, there is a point where if something rises “to the top” that needs to be skimmed off, something unhealthy (say salmonella) it is removed, and the rest of the batch is left to process even if some salmonella remains, because the process itself kills off what is unhealthy. so fascinating! for me, that means there is room for discernment. it is a “dialog” between all that is happening in the container.

so i am inviting myself to be fermented. to be placed in a container. get dirty and contaminated. “salted” and “seasoned,” even with ideas i am uncomfortable with. and there are plenty of those. allow the bubbles to rise up. see what questions stir. what might need to be skimmed off as unhealthy. see how i might be transformed. what invitation is bubbling up when you consider “fermentation?”

in the most recent We Will Dance With Mountains: Vunja! we started with Sawubona…the greeting of “i see you.” taking time to stop and look at one another and “see” who was in the room without having to say anything. just notice and deeply recognize each others’ worth and dignity. in sitting in the “i see you” space, i noticed how often i usually jump right into daily conversation without pausing.

i find it is more difficult to “other” someone else when i stop and consciously recognize they have worth and dignity. this also applies to the other beings i come in contact with. Oak. Robin. Dandelion. Hosta. Agate.

the truth is, i make “othering” statements (either out loud or in my head.) as i do, i need to ask: where is that coming from? for i often do it reflexively. is there fear behind it? a false belief? what is at the root? and trust me, i am not “pure” in my thoughts or deeds! none of this is easy. if anything, it becomes more difficult the more open i am to “fementation” (to use my metaphor of the day.) these, as poet David Whyte says, are beautiful questions. they don’t need answers today.

how about you? is there a beautiful question you are pondering as we move toward the winter/summer solstices next week.

except from (ironically) Pure Absence

by David Whyte

No easy answer

to the 

really, really beautiful

questions

of life,

they are just 

the everyday

hidden invitations

that have always been

made to you,

something beckoning

you to understand

through every day

of your living

and your dying

may your pondering be full of fermenting bubbles,

in gratitude,

anne

ps: last week i wrote a blog post, Darkness: The Gift of Winter That Allows For Stillness...and Grief, on my Nurture Your Journey website focused on Grief. it includes resources if, as the holidays engulf us, you need support.