In Defense of Food
I’ve just finished reading Michael Pollan’s terrific new book, ”In Defense of Food : An Eater’s Manifesto.” In many ways it’s a sequel to his earlier bestseller “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” which explored the ethical and ecological issues around what we eat and where our food comes from. In his latest book, Pollan moves on to answer the question: what should we then eat? After exploring the link between diet and various chronic diseases, he concludes that we should ignore both the manufacturers and marketers of “food like substances” on the one hand and the nutritionists on the other (the advice of both has actually made Americans less healthy in recent decades) and instead simply eat whole foods wherever possible. His mantra is “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”
Barbara Kingsolver’s newest book, ”Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life” addresses the same issue of the sustainabilty of our food production that Pollan looks at in “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”. This book is something of a departure for Kingsolver who is best known for her novels (“Poisonwood Bible”, “Prodigal Summer”, “Beantrees”). In a very engaging style, Kingsolver narrates the story of her family’s move from the arid southwest to her husband’s family farm in Virginia. This book is the story of her family’s quest to eat more sustainably by eating locally. In their case, they grow as much of their own food as they can and buy local produce for the rest. Along the way she fills us in on the ecological and health consequences of how our food is raised as well as the challenges and successes of local farmers.
Bottom line: Eat locally; it’s good for the health of both you and the earth. See you at the farmer’s market when it opens up!