normal eating?

Its been a week now since my two months of local eating has ended. I've had my indulgence, still enjoying it a bit, but I'm left wondering how to resolve going back to a "normal" eating. I've learned so much doing this project and really valued this experience, but as a busy college kid with still injured fingers, franticly trying to get ready for my senior show, I don't have the time or energy to put in to finding and preparing all my food the way i have been. Part of it is the time of year, winter farmers markets have ended, and the spring ones will start soon - access is hard right now. I really appreciate the option to be able to buy food while i'm out, particularly when i'm at school and hungry, I can buy a snack now. so thats really great. I appreciate fruit!!! besides apples i didn't have any fruit. a diversity of vegetables. its funny though, i bought corn on the cobb for our bbq last night well knowing that corn is not in season and that it was from florida, and let me just say it was a sad piece of corn. limp, scrawny, flavorless. sort of similarly, i had my favorite ben and jerry flavor (magic brownies) and i'll be honest it didn't taste as good as i remembered, which was shocking because ben and jerry's is my thing. I had a burger and shake from u burger and felt terribly sick. I don't think I can drink milkshakes anymore, also shocking as its one of my favorite treats. Such intense dairy and sugar don't seem to agree with me anymore. I've also noticed i get full much more easily since doing my project. I'm satisfied by smaller portions than i used to. I find when i get a sandwich i can eat only half, and then the other half a few hours later. Its probably a good thing. I think its interesting to think about the over eating of americans, how it just feels normal and how its possible for your body to adjust to healthier portions instead of feeling deprived. Back to my original question, how do i reconcile my beliefs and my eating now in more real life situation without the extreme rules? The project certainly has changed me. Not in an eating disorder way, but i think about everything i eat, in terms of where its come from, how its grown or eaten. Do i want chicken in my pad thai if i can probably guess that it was raised with no room to move, its beak cut off, never seen the light of day, and pumped growth hormones to the point that its breasts were so big? or do i want to support the genetic modification of soy and gene patenting that is allowing large seed companies like monsanto to sue farmers who's crops have been pollinated by their geneticly modified seeds when there's no way to control pollination if i order tofu? like plato's cave, you can't go back to ignorance. i can't help but think about everything i eat, which can be overwhelming sometimes but ultimately part of the experience i wanted to gain from my project. one may think that one person can't make a difference but really we are the consumers of our food and we make the choice everytime we buy and then eat food. the food system is an economy, and every dollar goes somewhere. vote with your fork, eat your values. think about it. what you buy and eat is a direct action that has the potential to be farm more effect than talk or preaching ever will. If you don't like the system, don't participate in it. of course its easier said than done, but even small actions or changing part of your diet is profound. it doesn't have to an all or nothing kind of thing, but i think it really empowering to be able to have such direct choice and control over the issue of food that when thats not the case in many other political issues such as education or health care. the more people support local agriculture economy, the more it will respond with access and options. personal action really is how our food system will change. just think about it. :-)

p.s. my aesthetic manifestation of the project will be going up as an exhibition on sunday at 601 newbury, with an opening reception friday april 16th 6-8!