Looking at my can of tomatoes
I wonder how many humans it took – directly and indirectly – to get that can of tomatoes in my pantry?
People I will never know. From the farmer to the people working in the cannery. Transport. Shelving in a supermarket. The label designers.
Not to mention the ability to buy a can of tomatoes at a store using my phone, with a beeping sound indicating that a transaction had been made.
It is hard to look at a can of tomatoes and think we are rugged solo individuals without the need of others.
That we can do things on our own!
Name one thing.
Just because the people who crafted and created the tools you work with ‘on your own’ are not in the room with you doesn’t mean they are irrelevant. But our neoliberal system wants us to forget. Wants us to think we are the heroes of our story, and all of the millions of invisible people who enabled you to do your solo work are forgotten, debased, dismissed.
We are entirely interdependent living beings.
It is time we remember that and build a world that honours and recognises our dependence upon each other.
Photo May 15th 2025, Article written May 15th 2025
