No, we actually don’t all have the same 24 hours.
It’s giving privilege, not truth.
Ever since I saw Virginia Sole-Smith’s Instagram post about a Michael Pollan interview, I’ve felt bothered (and that’s putting it lightly). In the post, Virginia quotes Pollan’s response to an interviewer’s question about how busy people can eat healthier. His response: “We make time for the things we value.”
Sigh.
Pollan does go on in the “60-Minutes” interview to discuss the importance of systemic policy changes regarding food access and subsidies, but still…this grinds my gears. Why? Because it reminds me of the similar motivational advice like “We all have the same 24 hours” where it’s stripping the nuance, the complexity of our lives and reducing it to a personal choice problem. You want to eat healthier but find it difficult? You’re just not trying hard enough. If you valued it more, you’d make it work. Just try harder.
It’s demeaning and, most importantly, it’s ineffectual.
Because, no, we do not have the same 24 hours. A family of five where both parents work 9-5 jobs will have a different capacity to cook dinner than a couple in their 30s where one works from home. A person in the throes of a depressive cycle or in a chronic fatigue flare will not have the ability to meal prep their week in advance. Someone with ADHD will need a different approach to eating throughout the day than a person without.
Why does this matter? What’s the harm?
Normalizing this language means we internalize this sense that we should be able to do everything all at once. And if we can’t, it’s our problem. We start believing that we shouldn’t have to rely on easy meals or convenience foods. We shouldn’t have to ask for help. But the truth is, behind the “same 24 hours” people is a whole lot of privilege and a whole lot of, often invisible, assistance. Childcare, work flexibility, mental health, socioeconomic status, physical health and abilities - these things NEED to be apart of the conversation. They’re not excuses, they’re realities.
And when we accept the reality that we need to accommodate for our circumstances, things actually get a lot easier! One of the greatest joys in my job is helping food become less stressful and more manageable for my clients, all of whom are usually juggling at least one, if not multiple, conditions that make getting food on the table difficult. If you’ve been made to feel that eating nutritious food should be easy but felt paralyzed by what comes next (because it actually isn’t), I see you. And, I would love to help!
If you need help breaking down the complex barriers to nourishing your body, I am currently accepting new clients and would love to hear more about your nutrition goals on a free, 15-minute discovery call! Not ready for a phone call but want to reach out? Scroll down on my Contact Me page to connect via email!