unhappy meals
robotnik sent me a great article to read today, while i was at home, fighting off a nasty cold. i know i post a lot of random crap on this blog (much of which is really just that - crap)... but, you will have to trust me when i say this: if you never click on another link that i post here, ever again, click on this one.
it's an article from the nytimes' sunday magazine. i would apologize that it's long (12 pages) but every page is worth reading and goes over another new and interesting point. the article is just spot-on about a lot of food/eating related concepts i've been thinking about, over the last 3 and a half years since moving away from the east coast and being exposed to the delightful world of california cuisine.
in a slight nutshell, he's talking about how the united states has fostered a collective thinking around food that is detrimental to our health/bodies and culture. but that's glossing it over - and not really what it's about. you just need to read it yourself.
>> unhappy meals by michael pollan
something i love about california is how so many people are obsessed with eating organic, locally grown, and seasonal foods. it makes so much sense to me that we as humans should only be eating things grown near where we live, in the seasons they're meant to be harvested. our bodies and our food would thus go through similar environmental and seasonal changes, adapting to our environment in ways that can help us stay healthier, stronger, and better suited to the season/location at hand.
but, more importantly, it makes sense to me that we should be eating food which hasn't spent intangible amounts of time in factories, machines, boxes, or trucks. it scares me that i don't know where some of the foods i eat are from - where were they a week ago? who/what have they touched? what is in them?
and, i tend to be the worst culprit when it comes to eating out - especially since up until recently, i spent most of my evenings alone. after a long and late day at work, i would arrive to an empty apartment at 8 pm, starving and tired. thus take-out meals become my savior in the immediate. but they are terrible for me in the long term. no wonder i drop weight when i go home during the holidays - my mom cooks healthy food, and well-balanced meals for dinner every night. the holiday cookies have no chance around my waistline, compared to the arrays of veggies, lean meats, and other delights that she throws at us.
i can only justify it (which i shouldn't try to be doing, but i will) by saying that at least i get take-out from restaurants that cook real food from local farms. i don't eat fast food. i'd rather just not eat than eat fast food. thank goodness i am blessed to be in a town with an over-abundance of socially and environmentally conscious restaurants...
but, fast food brings me back to this article... the brief yet crystal clear image the author paints about fast food being "pre-digested" is enough to make me never want to touch it again. why do we put that crap in our bodies?
anyways, the article is hardly about fast food - so don't think it's just another voice bemoaning that industry. instead, it's this guy's take on how we've over-scienced the food we eat. and the article is chock full of poignant and interesting tidbits about how complex and interconnected our body-food relationship is.
i think it's super important to think about this kind of stuff. so, i hope you do too.
it's an article from the nytimes' sunday magazine. i would apologize that it's long (12 pages) but every page is worth reading and goes over another new and interesting point. the article is just spot-on about a lot of food/eating related concepts i've been thinking about, over the last 3 and a half years since moving away from the east coast and being exposed to the delightful world of california cuisine.
in a slight nutshell, he's talking about how the united states has fostered a collective thinking around food that is detrimental to our health/bodies and culture. but that's glossing it over - and not really what it's about. you just need to read it yourself.
>> unhappy meals by michael pollan
something i love about california is how so many people are obsessed with eating organic, locally grown, and seasonal foods. it makes so much sense to me that we as humans should only be eating things grown near where we live, in the seasons they're meant to be harvested. our bodies and our food would thus go through similar environmental and seasonal changes, adapting to our environment in ways that can help us stay healthier, stronger, and better suited to the season/location at hand.
but, more importantly, it makes sense to me that we should be eating food which hasn't spent intangible amounts of time in factories, machines, boxes, or trucks. it scares me that i don't know where some of the foods i eat are from - where were they a week ago? who/what have they touched? what is in them?
and, i tend to be the worst culprit when it comes to eating out - especially since up until recently, i spent most of my evenings alone. after a long and late day at work, i would arrive to an empty apartment at 8 pm, starving and tired. thus take-out meals become my savior in the immediate. but they are terrible for me in the long term. no wonder i drop weight when i go home during the holidays - my mom cooks healthy food, and well-balanced meals for dinner every night. the holiday cookies have no chance around my waistline, compared to the arrays of veggies, lean meats, and other delights that she throws at us.
i can only justify it (which i shouldn't try to be doing, but i will) by saying that at least i get take-out from restaurants that cook real food from local farms. i don't eat fast food. i'd rather just not eat than eat fast food. thank goodness i am blessed to be in a town with an over-abundance of socially and environmentally conscious restaurants...
but, fast food brings me back to this article... the brief yet crystal clear image the author paints about fast food being "pre-digested" is enough to make me never want to touch it again. why do we put that crap in our bodies?
anyways, the article is hardly about fast food - so don't think it's just another voice bemoaning that industry. instead, it's this guy's take on how we've over-scienced the food we eat. and the article is chock full of poignant and interesting tidbits about how complex and interconnected our body-food relationship is.
i think it's super important to think about this kind of stuff. so, i hope you do too.
posted by megan at
8:33:00 PM
3 Comments:
Megan....Your speaking my language! Just ask Colin about the tyrades that I go on regarding eating local, organic, non-processed, non-preserved food. I am totally going to read this article, sounds right up my alley.
I think you should read the book The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. I think that you would find it really interesting, I know I did.
Ciao,
Sarah
Definitely read Omnivore's Dilemma. It's fascinating, and it converted me to a true believer in local organic food.
For a more artistic take on food, you and Conor should read the article in the January/February Technology Review about Grant Achatz, a chef in Chicago who has come up with some pretty wild dishes ("The Alchemist" pg. 62).
-Colin
Megan, Thanks for the link to the NYT article. I have not read it yet but plan to do so now. My eating habits have "deteriorated" somewhat since joining the work force, so hopefully this will help me re-focus.
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