“In the food world, the people with power are the ones who affect what and how and where and why we eat — or who can, if they want to. They’re the agribusiness moguls who decide what gets grown and how it gets harvested and sold; the representatives of major food processing, distribution concerns, and retail food outlets who create new products and service the demand for edibles old and new. They’re the scolds and nannies — and admirable consumer advocates — who tell us what we should and shouldn’t eat, sometimes upending whole industries in the process.”

~ via The Daily Meal

The Daily Meal recently released a list of “America’s 50 Most Powerful People in Food.” The list of names runs the gamut, from celebrity chefs (such as Daniel Boulud, Thomas Keller, and Mario Batali) and real food advocates (such as Alice Waters and Michael Pollan) to politicos (such as Tom Vilsack and Michelle Obama) and some folks I’ve never heard of before now (such as David Dillon, Chairman and CEO, Kroger Co).

As with any “top 10″ or “50 most” list, there’s already a lot of debate about the folks that were selected, as well as many musing about who should have been on the list instead (in other words, read the comment section). But, to me, the best thing about the list is who came in at #1.

It’s you. Yes, you. And it’s me. It’s, according to The Daily Meal, “The user. The reader. The consumer. The restaurant-goer. The home cook. The culinary professional. Websites and magazines report the trends; cookbooks sometimes ignite them or fan the flames. But you are ultimately the one who decides what to devour and what to leave aside. You’re responsible, finally, for the quality and integrity of our raw materials, the style and accent of our restaurants, the success or failure of our food products and cuisines. You determine what we eat and how and sometimes why. And you’re doing a great job. Keep it up.”

In our roles as food consumers, restaurant-goers, home cooks, etc, we do have the power to influence our food system … and our choices matter. Choose local. Choose sustainable. Choose foods and places that benefit your community and benefit your health. Choose foods and places that help, not hurt, the environment. In other words, vote with your fork. You can do it three times a day. And you’re doing a great job. Keep it up.