If you read one book this summer...

In no way do I really want to use this sight to preach a way of eating and living.  I think it is pretty clear that despite being surrounded by the inner workings of grocery stores, I am not blind to the consequences they have had on our culture. Nor am I perfect as I've struggled with weight and eaten my fair share of processed food. The more I've learned though, the harder it is for me to really embrace that type of lifestyle anymore, and the way I eat now is much more just an unconscious choice than a stated "diet." Why make vegetables a punishment when they can be so delicious? I am very fascinated by how food affects people, though, and love studying traditional diets. I have a grandparent that was raised on a farm and hearing her stories of childhood also has also given me a lot of perspective just on the sheer availability of food to most everybody now, even in times of "economic crisis." 

This post is really more about me just saying that if this type of study at all interests you, I urge you to check out In Defense of Food from the library or just try and find it at a Half Price Books. It is an amazing read from Michael Pollan. I devoured it in a matter of hours. I enjoyed a lot of the thought process I saw of his in The Omnivore's Dilemma but this is much more of a critique of reductionist theory of separating food and nutrients and breaking down the missteps of our food culture on a national level. If you ever wonder how a country could have ever gotten to such an overfed and undernourished state and more disturbing how a corporate industry and a government all but engineered the simultaneous devolution and development of this situation... this book is for you. The best part, though is more than just stating a problem and giving no solutions, it makes pretty simple suggestions to approach the way that food is here in America in a way that leaves you the educated decider of your "food fate." He called this his eater's manifesto, but it doesn't really direct in such a strict fashion, just illuminate facts. In honor of the name of this blog, this book is for those who feel like food is more than a sum of its nutrients.