The Omnivore's Dilemma

I am on a semi-healthy eating kick lately...I try to avoid empty carbs, and try to eat a lot of fiber and the healthy kind of oils-the ones loaded with mono and poly unsaturated fats, i.e. olive oil, as much as I can...I try to buy organic stuff as my budget allows (especially eggs and milk, because otherwise they're horribly hormone laden!)...I've been thinking about going to farmer's markets, although I haven't been able to go to the one we have in town, yet. I heard that they're going to close soon to open up shop at a bigger place much closer to my place, so I hope to frequent the place then. I've never been to a farmer's market here (I've been to a few farms to pick apples, etc.), and have no idea what to expect as far as quality and prices go (I am guessing better and lower than "industrial-organic" respectively), but I guess I'll find out when I go. This is mostly so I can eat stuff that is relatively healthy, but also somewhat because I want to help the local farmers/economy in the name of leading a more "sustainable" life.

The book that I'm reading right now, The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, by Michael Pollan, opened up my eyes to a whole different world as far as food/eating goes. Most of the stuff in the book, I thought I knew...But still the book managed to surprise me on so many levels, and made me question my own eating habits (which are generally quite healthy when compared to what the general population eats. I am by nature not a "snacker", and that kind of helps me stay away from donuts, cookies, chips, etc. I only eat 3 meals a day, and never skip breakfast, because I can't function otherwise LOL and avoid fastfood as much as I can) But who knew that even with healthy choices, that most of the stuff we're eating might just come from corn (did you know that a Twinkie is almost entirely made of corn????) or lack "real" nutrition, and that most of the stuff labeled as "organic" is actually-yeah hormone and chemical free- but does not necessarily come from sustainable practices? For me at least, when I read "organic" I kinda tend to think "sustainable practices", which is not the case.

It's amazing how the "industrial agriculture/food" system works. From feeding cows other cows and corn instead of grass (to make them grow faster and also to get rid of the excess amount of corn that is grown-this is for ALL the meat we buy from the supermarket unless it is labeled as "free-range") to making sure we process foods so that there's only a suggestion of nutrition in them (just so we can add it back to them artificially and "fortify" them), we have managed to make something that should be simple very complicated (and unhealthy). Of course there are so many sides of the mirror here-from making sure we have enough cheap food for everyone to how much the government plays a role in the whole thing to drive the economy, but still...We are tinkering with food too much, period.

There's a passage in the book where the author talks about a cereal or something-I can't remember what exactly, and mentions that it says on the box something like "now you can have your food with fruit in it", and says "I thought fruit itself was food!"...When you think about it, it's appalling what we consider "real food" these days. And everyone knows that to be able to get quality nutritious food, you have to shell out a lot of money-it ain't cheap. So what we're paying for when we buy cheaper, processed/nonlocal food most of the time is chemical-and-hormone dosed, more-energy-intensive-to-grow-than-the-calories-it-provides, processed-to-nothing illusion of food.

This book is a great journey through the twisted land of bountiful (yet artificial) land of food. If you think you know what's going to be on your plate for your next meal, read this book, and you'll sure change your mind.