Baking bread: In search of common ground

BY JOHN KELLEN

In a world that seems more divisive every day, wouldn’t it be nice to find ways to work through our differences? I realize that is a tall order or maybe even unrealistic, but I feel compelled to make an attempt. Perhaps if people of different stripes would make a point of sharing meals together on a regular basis those experiences might lead to better understanding. A global pandemic has made this premise untenable over the past year, until now. With the advances in administering vaccinations across the country there is hope for a return to some sense of normalcy however you may define normal. The concept of breaking bread together has biblical ties yet has origins back to the beginning of time, a time when bread was much harder than current variations. Most, if not all, cultures and various religions have some form of stories related to sharing food not only with families and tribes, but with strangers and those who are in need or less fortunate.

Curious where the sayings I’ve used originated, I found that when I used the idiom “Confucius say: Fastest way to man’s heart is through his stomach” was not actually attributed to this wise man. Rather, John Adams the American statesman wrote in a letter “The shortest road to men’s hearts is down their throats” and some years later Richard Ford’s ‘A Handbook for Travelers in Spain’ advised “The way to many an honest heart lies through the belly.” While this is often historically associated with how women attract men, it’s not always the case. Many men including myself, love to cook and I believe it’s always been a useful skill set no matter the motivation. Consider also “Anybody who believes that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach flunked geography” was written by Robert Byrne in 1988. All this is to bring back the point that food connects each and every one of us and even though it wasn’t Confucius who coined the phrase, Confucianism emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice, kindness and sincerity; all noble aspirations especially now given current societal trends.

Thinking of my own experiences and fond memories of sharing meals with my family and friends, I suspect most people can think back to times where they looked forward to their mother’s or grandmother’s home cooking. Although the menus may bevaried around the world, the shared experiences are very similar, in fact I would argue, the feeling is universal. Bread in all its forms is symbolic of something much larger than just nutrition and whether it’s Wonder bread, a baguette, a tortilla, lefse or garlic naan the tearing and sharing go hand in hand.

Pictured with me is recent Syrian Immigrant Sultana Lama’s daughter who made a cake specially for me. This experience was powerful given this family had recently escaped war-torn Syria with nothing, yet still wanted to extend their hospitality to me whom they had only recently met.

Photo courtesy of John Kellen

Wheat (which is one of the main ingredients of most bread) has only been a food source for the past ten thousand years and the human digestive system wasn’t designed to process this easily cultivated and stored food source. Gluten and the resultant inflammation in our bodies has been wreaking havoc on our immune systems ever since. While I digress from the main theme of this article, and be it known that I love most all breads and grains, food allergies and subsequent maladies I’ve learned about compel me to make a full disclosure.

Thunderbird School of Global Management in Phoenix is a premier international business school in Phoenix, Arizona. Originally based on a World War II Army Air Corp flight training school Thunderbird launched one of the first international trade schools in the US and has Alumni working around the world in nearly every country. Pictured here are the Tucson Chapter Alumni Association gathering for a “First Tuesday” networking event which happens each month in cities around the globe. This photo happens to be my last event as President of the chapter prior to leaving for Minnesota to care for my elderly parents.

Photo courtesy of John Kellen

Back to the concept of breaking bread as a metaphor for bridging divides. I’ve had the good fortune of traveling around the world and I love sampling local delicacies wherever I go. While I’m very fond of fine cuisine, some of my most memorable experiences are of sharing humble meals in places like remote villages in Guatemala, Nepal and China. Villagers welcomed me into their homes and shared feasts in my honor as a complete stranger from a foreign land. The generous people had very little in material possessions yet went out of their way to make sure I could sample their traditional dishes and drink. Even though in many cases we didn’t speak the same language, we could still communicate on a very deep level which is a testament to the power of shared time and space.

While working with the United Nations Association of Southern Arizona we hosted documentary filmmakers Ozlem Ayse Ozgur and Leslie Ann Epperson and viewed their film “Taste Bud Memories.” It features indigenous Tohono O’Odam

Peoples of Arizona, immigrants from Mexico, Uganda and Syria, as well as Americans of European descent. Their stories are about connection to traditional foods and growing crops that remind them of their homelands. Many immigrant’s stories are filled with harrowing escapes from atrocities we here in the United States find hard to fathom. Only a few generations back those similar stories might be of our great-grandparents coming from Europe to this region and the associated displacement of Dakota and Ojibwe Peoples. Every one of us has a story to tell if we dare.

What I found moving in the documentary and what left me hopeful was the demonstrated will of people to not only survive but to provide a lifestyle for themselves and their families which here again is a universal desire that transcends geography and ethnicity.

Two comments strike at the heart of the message of this film – the first from Cesar Chavez “If you want to make a friend, go to someone’s house and eat with him…. The people who give you their food give you their heart” And the second from a Yazidi woman from Syria – “Food is Love!”

Fast forward to contemporary West Central Minnesota where our evolving communities include various immigrants and ethnicities. As the journalist Thomas Friedman has written of Willmar, I share his optimism that we could become a model for how rural communities develop and thrive going forward. I have no illusions that the tasks at hand will be easy, but believe over time with increasing participation by ordinary citizens doing extraordinary things, acts of kindness will prevail over our darker tendencies.

Colleen Kellen teaches the ins and outs of making Rosettes for the holidays. Passing on traditions and recipes from one generation to the next has been going on for centuries.

Photo courtesy of John Kellen

When it is safe again to do so, I hope people will connect and I encourage all of us to venture beyond our comfort zones and invite a stranger to share a meal and listen to their stories. I suspect that you’ll be surprised by what you learn. Just maybe this act of “breaking bread” will be the spark of something meaningful and beautiful. We get to choose how our future will go.