I just read a sobering piece on Salon.com about rising food and oil prices and the global unrest that might come as a result. It’s called “Welcome to the Year of Living Dangerously” and it was written by Michael T. Klare. “Put simply, global consumption patterns are now beginning to challenge the planet’s natural resource limits. Populations are still on the rise, and from Brazil to India, Turkey to China, new powers are rising as well.” When weather-related disasters—floods in Australia, fires in Russia—are added to the mix, as well as speculation, you have conditions for widespread hunger. Not a pretty picture.

If ever there were a time for the coming together of communities, states, and country, it is now. Hard policies and selfishness will only make things worse, leading to insecurity and misery. We are all in this together, and our solutions must come from society as a whole, from sound policies and fair laws that bring security to people in insecure times. In The Permaculture Way, Graham Bell writes, “We can no longer afford to be individuals scrabbling over one bone. There are too many of us, and we have stretched the resources of our planet too far…”

Conversely, individual actions do matter, and we must take a serious look at what and how much we consume. We all have our weak spots; mine is food. Nevertheless my husband, Clif, and I are making a serious effort to eat more beans and less meat, to eat our fair share but not to overeat. We don’t always succeed, but we keep trying and in that trying, through constant practice, can come a change in habits. At least that’s what we hope.

The late, great Canadian writer Robertson Davies once stated, “Balance is the reconciliation of opposites.” He was right. I just hope this country can reconcile the needs of society with the needs of the individual. Right now, we are out of balance. Way out of balance.

As I worked on this piece, black beans were soaking in a big pan. Soon after, I cooked the beans until they were soft. Then, in a little oil in a big fry pan I sizzled chopped carrots and celery until they were soft. I added a few cloves of chopped garlic and sizzled it for less then a minute. Next came the black beans and a barbecue sauce our friends Kate and Bob Johnson gave us for Christmas. Clif and I ate the barbecue beans over some rice, and they tasted very good indeed.