so i am reading this book, one that will likely assume the title of most influential book of the decade. for me, anyway. i stole it from my dad, with promises to bring it back at christmas since he's only about a tenth of the way through.
it essentially details the progression of the industrialized american food chain from inception (roosevelt-era legislation in reaction to the depression and WWII) to today, and details some of today's more radical beyond-organic farmers. it also takes a close look at USDA guidelines for organic foods and the business of organic industrial food raising. it isn't preachy, it's more of a long, leisurely inspection - i suppose a nod to pollan's extensive journalism background.
yesterday trev and i went to safeway for weekly food shopping and to poke around at the turkeys that safeway was offering for the unlikely price of $4.99 or $7.99. in the back of my head, i am constantly re-positioning my food purchase decisions based both on what i am reading in this book and what i have learned from being a bay area-ite and having friends who are deeply immersed in beyond-organic, sustainable farming and food philosophies, and what is realistic for a household consisting of one unemployed person and one student. is whole foods any better than safeway, really? yes, likely, but whole foods is still a warehoused chain with national distribution, meaning that the organically-raised greens or free-range chickens are still trucked an average of 1500 miles to reach me. i agree wholeheartedly that i need to stop expecting food to be cheap and start thinking critically about where it comes from. i went so far as to google CSAs in colorado in an effort to buy locally. but then i think critically at my checking account, and think about the possibility of being jobless for another 3-4 months, and head to safeway or king sooper and whip out my preferred shopper card.
i am eating beef that feeds on corn instead of biologically-appropriate grass, stuffed with antibiotics to minimize infections caused by wallowing in its own manure. i am eating chickens who have never seen the light of day and are slaughtered at 7 weeks old, and are fed scraps of its own kind mixed in with antibiotics . i am eating produce slathered in pesticides and herbicides, picked by vastly underpaid migrant workers who live in deplorable conditions. i am paralyzed in the snack aisle, trying to decide between kettle chips made in boulder (locally produced!) but more expensive per ounce, or kettle chips distributed out of oregon which i can find even in china, on sale 2 bags for $6. i take so long deciding which are less evil that the elderly woman waiting for me to get the @(%*$ out of the way sighs and moves on to the next item on her list. i mumble constantly to myself, and analyze the ingredient list on every package, picking out as many corn-based ingredients as i can in an effort to disqualify each product. i select the tabasco brand bloody mary mix because it doesn't contain high fructose corn syrup. (there's thinkin!) i buy yellow squash that's grown locally instead of the california-grown artichokes that cost nearly $2 a pop. i sigh when trevor comes home with those same artichokes because he knows i love them.
it takes me over an hour to buy 10 items because i am constantly debating pros and cons in my head. mostly, the expense concern wins out. i tell myself i will buy locally when i have a job. when trevor's school loans are paid down. when we're middle aged and i'm writing books and he's negotiating mergers.
dilemma indeed.
it essentially details the progression of the industrialized american food chain from inception (roosevelt-era legislation in reaction to the depression and WWII) to today, and details some of today's more radical beyond-organic farmers. it also takes a close look at USDA guidelines for organic foods and the business of organic industrial food raising. it isn't preachy, it's more of a long, leisurely inspection - i suppose a nod to pollan's extensive journalism background.
yesterday trev and i went to safeway for weekly food shopping and to poke around at the turkeys that safeway was offering for the unlikely price of $4.99 or $7.99. in the back of my head, i am constantly re-positioning my food purchase decisions based both on what i am reading in this book and what i have learned from being a bay area-ite and having friends who are deeply immersed in beyond-organic, sustainable farming and food philosophies, and what is realistic for a household consisting of one unemployed person and one student. is whole foods any better than safeway, really? yes, likely, but whole foods is still a warehoused chain with national distribution, meaning that the organically-raised greens or free-range chickens are still trucked an average of 1500 miles to reach me. i agree wholeheartedly that i need to stop expecting food to be cheap and start thinking critically about where it comes from. i went so far as to google CSAs in colorado in an effort to buy locally. but then i think critically at my checking account, and think about the possibility of being jobless for another 3-4 months, and head to safeway or king sooper and whip out my preferred shopper card.
i am eating beef that feeds on corn instead of biologically-appropriate grass, stuffed with antibiotics to minimize infections caused by wallowing in its own manure. i am eating chickens who have never seen the light of day and are slaughtered at 7 weeks old, and are fed scraps of its own kind mixed in with antibiotics . i am eating produce slathered in pesticides and herbicides, picked by vastly underpaid migrant workers who live in deplorable conditions. i am paralyzed in the snack aisle, trying to decide between kettle chips made in boulder (locally produced!) but more expensive per ounce, or kettle chips distributed out of oregon which i can find even in china, on sale 2 bags for $6. i take so long deciding which are less evil that the elderly woman waiting for me to get the @(%*$ out of the way sighs and moves on to the next item on her list. i mumble constantly to myself, and analyze the ingredient list on every package, picking out as many corn-based ingredients as i can in an effort to disqualify each product. i select the tabasco brand bloody mary mix because it doesn't contain high fructose corn syrup. (there's thinkin!) i buy yellow squash that's grown locally instead of the california-grown artichokes that cost nearly $2 a pop. i sigh when trevor comes home with those same artichokes because he knows i love them.
it takes me over an hour to buy 10 items because i am constantly debating pros and cons in my head. mostly, the expense concern wins out. i tell myself i will buy locally when i have a job. when trevor's school loans are paid down. when we're middle aged and i'm writing books and he's negotiating mergers.
dilemma indeed.
1 comment:
It can certainly get overwhelming if you let it. I basically had a crisis after reading "fast food nation", and the more I keep up on what's "good" and "bad" (check if your toothpaste has something called triclosan in it), the more I kinda' wish I was just ignorant and didn't have to be bothered by all of it. Perhaps the upside of high gas prices and economic meltdown will be that people are forced to revert back to more sustainable, local economies. For now, I want multi-national corporations the F*** out of my food.
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