i'd make a joke here, but the article already used them all

[rone]

If you've ever wondered where your food really comes from, you should read this interview to start; in short, our diet depends heavily on petroleum and corn.  Pollan's book sounds really interesting.

Comments

[tongodeon.livejournal.com]

The Indians called it "petroleum and maize".

[rimrunner.livejournal.com]

I gave this book to my mom for Mother's Day. We had a great conversation about it after she read it, which was sort of the object.

[thedarkages]

It's nice to know that my sanctimonious Whole-Foods-eating acquaintances have only made it one rung up the ladder of evil. There's monoculture soybeans in their tofu!

Seriously, check out the merits of Community-Supported Agriculture.

[asienieizi.livejournal.com]

Excellent article! But I also like Whole Foods, in a non-sanctimonious
way. They've got the best salad bar I've ever seen.

[opadit.livejournal.com]

Fast Food Nation covers a lot of that, too, though it focuses on eating out.

[taerowyn.livejournal.com]

I saw him speak about the book...sounds really interesting and I am next in line once my friend finishes reading her copy. I love that he does mass spec analysis of the food. Brings up a lot of issues that we're dealing with at work so I'm especially interested.

And let me second joining a CSA. Mine's about to start up in a week or two and I can't wait...

[mezdeathhead.livejournal.com]

Thanks for sharing that, that's a very good read. I'll have to buy that book, tout suite.

I'm always giving myself aneurysms about food and ethics. Any time I hear someone say that there isn't one right answer, it makes me want to hear more. Who knew food should be so complicated.

[dpk.livejournal.com]

'If you're hoping that Pollan will put an end to our food anxiety by just telling us what to eat, forget it. "I don't think it's a journalist's job to issue shopping lists or policy descriptions," Pollan explains over lunch. "We're supposed to show people how the world is, to give them the tools they need to make good decisions as citizens or consumers. Depending on what your values are — the environment, your health, animal welfare — the answers are going to be different for every person."'

Heh. Bummer. He could at least try. :) That's the main thing that's been missing from all of the objective articles I've read on healthy eating. I think I have a pretty good handle on what is and isn't healthy, in general, but I haven't been able to find specifics. "Organic" labels and such are misleading, at best. The FDA nutrition facts label is incomplete (a monolithic "protien" row? Heh). Somebody smart like this guy ought to come out with the Pollan's Diet, to compete with Atkins and all that rot.

A human food guide!!!

[drieuxster.livejournal.com]

Great points!!! I am currently in the transition from life with a French Chief, where I did not have to think much about 'fooding' to my current state where I have to be a bit more practical about these things. Granted I am an Old School Granola Head, and while not a Vegetarian, I tend to eat meat on the same basic schedule that my forefathers were able to Kill Meat Related Activities Programmes without massive Technological Support, since I come from the "stalking the Wild Twinkie" school of nutritionists....

What we need is some cross over place, where it is safe to deal with the diet as a part of the socio-economic process!!!!

[frosch.livejournal.com]

it's amusing how little progress is demonstrated by the currently-in-vogue environmentally-sensitive enthusiasm for corn ethanol. I'm two generations removed from the farm, and even I can think of obvious improvements over gasoline-raised ethanol: soybean biodiesel, even ethanol from sugar cane.

oh wait, we'd probably have to import that technology from Brazil. never mind.

next time you hear some Limborg instance ranting about welfare queens, do me a favor and point out to him/her who the *real* welfare queens are: the multimilliondollar beneficiaries of perennial USDA price supports, the malcreants who (by choosing the candidates) define the battleground on which our quadrennial presidential sweepstakes is waged: the Iowa corn farmer.

Ah yes, the Horror Of The Hemp Kults

[drieuxster.livejournal.com]

Great Start For the Next Round of the Struggle - how DO we get the Political Wankers to get past their Ideological Wankery!!!!! There have been several basic initiatives that CLEARLY should have been mandated in the wake of 09/11/2001, as many americans noticed that this was the second attack on the WTC, and that gos they might want to sober up and get over themselves.

The comment Above about the Community Ag Solutions, married to an understanding that we will need to start working NOW so that we are prepared when it is our turn to WAIT for FEMA, and/or what is left of a Federal Government to be able to 'offer advice'. Remember when such rhetoric was the safe harbour of the Post-Apocalyptic Konspirakii Wankers, and not merely the sort of folks who had watched the Fiasco In New Orleans.

So who knows, maybe it is time for americans to get on the 'you are what you eat' dogma, and past their whole Cannibalism hopes that we can survive on merely Eating the Poor People we have been able to fatten up for the Slaughter!!!

[twillis.livejournal.com]

I heard that dude talking on NPR, and the book does sound very interesting. I've been looking into Sustainable Agriculture, but it can be tricky getting good info. I joined a local farmers email list, but was disappointed by the well-meaning but muddy thinking.

So for now I'm mostly focusing on how much food I can grow for our own use, and which crops will do best here, and later if there is a surplus I'll let The Big Guy do the marketing.

Oh, and making sure there is enough fruit to make booze with.

Bonus fact: I did not bother to plant any corn this year because the deer get most of it, anyhow.