I wanted to write this piece to claim who I am and what I stand for.

We live in a fast paced world that is always moving and always changing. Out of everything that is going on right now, I am increasingly concerned about the state of women’s beauty standards and the capitalistic claws on our food.

Let me explain.

The first thing I want to stand on is this — A WOMAN EATING IS NOW A RADICAL ACT. We have all been on the internet. We have all seen the epidemic of extreme thinness. It isn’t about health and it never was. Every time someone shames a fat person and disguises it as concern for their health, you know it’s just that person’s insecurities coming to the surface. A person who is so cruel they want to publicly shame you for your appearance is far from caring — and least of all about your personal health.

I was alive in the early 2000s, born just before the millennium, but the thin epidemic back then didn’t take such a toll on me as it does now. I am a curvy young woman, definitely on the “overweight” side as some would call it. The current political climate surrounding women’s rights and equality is deeply disturbing. On one hand, I am part of the first generation of women being financially independent. I am free, and I live in a world where I am as close to being equal to a man as I could be. We almost made it, ladies. But on the other hand I see all these beautiful women being starved beyond recognition in broad daylight, and I feel like that equality — that taste of victory — is slipping through my fingers. It is not a coincidence that the media pushes this beauty standard on women RIGHT NOW. Whoever is doing this — and you know there is someone pulling the media strings, manipulating the algorithms, funding the skinnytok — is doing it because women have too much power. A starved, frail woman is easier to manipulate, her mind clouded.

So this is my call. TO EAT. TO NOURISH. TO CARE ABOUT HOW FULFILLING A MEAL IS — NOT ABOUT CALORIES OR PROTEIN.

THIS IS MY RADICAL ACT OF RESISTANCE.

Every time one of my friends says they don’t feel good in their body, it breaks my heart. Every time I think I have to change something about my own body, it breaks my heart. How am I still submitting to this societal pressure? Why am I not indifferent to everything that is pushed on me, when I know where I stand and know very well how truly healthily I eat? Simply because I am human. Because I used to hate Birkenstocks and then I saw them on so many people’s feet that I got my own pair. Because every day I see thin women. Every day I see reels about “nutrition” that are oftentimes just about being low calorie.

I need to remind myself every day that my tummy and my floppy arms and my big thighs are not parallel with my self worth. I won’t subject myself to objectification. I will not make a piece of meat out of myself. I will not look in the mirror and see myself as just a body — just the fat here I need to lose and a little bit of fat there I need to lose. I choose to learn how to accept myself over and over again, until I don’t have to anymore. It’s an everyday battle that I know will come back to me many more times, but I have won before and I will win again — even when the times are as trying as these.

Another thing I feel strongly about is capitalism and its claws, which reach so far as to make fresh produce a luxury. We see fashion brands using beautiful produce — vegetables and fruit — as props in their photoshoots. We see millionaires like Nara Smith and the Ballerina Farm flaunting their fresh, beautiful ingredients. We see large, colourful tomatoes on our Instagram feeds and automatically think — oh, I wish I had enough money to shop at that fancy grocery store. How have freshness and quality become so inaccessible? Capitalism. That’s how.

Let me tell you something.

I come from a very humble background. And you know what? The founding pillar of poor people has always been growing their own food. This is another radical act you can do. Another radical act that I am doing. GROW YOUR OWN FOOD. As much as you are able — even just herbs. Start somewhere. Educate yourself. Set things up and start learning while we have the time. With ongoing wars and a deepening financial crisis, there is a real possibility we will need this skill more and more.

I am lucky enough to have grown up growing the very thing that is now supposed to be inaccessible to me. And guess what — fresh produce is the most accessible thing in my life, and I am currently sitting unemployed at home. If you accept the rhythm of seasons, if you accept the flow of time, if you prepare and learn how to preserve — you have already won.

Start small. If you have never planted anything before, start small. No yard? Start with pots on your windowsill. When I lived in a flat I grew tomatoes and cucumbers in pots. Everything counts.

Have a yard? Get rid of the grass and start building your independence.

No money? No problem. Buy a tomato at the shop and plant the seeds right now. Next year, use the seeds from the tomatoes you grew yourself.

It requires so little money — still some, I know. But over time you will learn and build your arsenal of seeds, tools and knowledge.

Start now. Start protesting now. We have let the people in power take enough from us. But not our food. Remember — healthy food is not a luxury. It is a fundamental pillar of your existence. Stop stalling and act now. You will be grateful later.