the omnivore's newspaper article

The New York Times had an amusing (long) article in yesterday's paper title 'Unhappy Meals' which started with this rather pithy summation of healthy eating: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants", and then carries on to offer a corollary:

if you’re concerned about your health, you should probably avoid food products that make health claims. Why? Because a health claim on a food product is a good indication that it’s not really food, and food is what you want to eat.

The author apparently wrote a book on the subject, or a related one, but given the length of the article I would suggest you can read this, and skip the book.

Actually, buy the book. And I say this not because Michael Pollan is a fellow Bennington alumni, but because he's a great writer and thinks cogently and originally about the issues of food production in America. He did another article (read his articles, too) about following meat production in the states from calf to plate - in other words, he tracked a calf he (I think) bought, be born, grow up, go through the fields, feedlots, slaughterhouse... the whole shebang. I've seen him speak as well (as an alumni, of course) and he's pretty fun in person. He also has a great schtick about how certain plants have been hyper-selected and evolved and spread (thus making them extraordinarily genetically successful) because of their utility to humans over the course of the past few thousand years. It's the perspective of plants 'using' humans that's the most interesting (called "The Botany of Desire"). Anyway, Yay Michael Pollan. Go ye forth to the library, or wherever.

Pshaw! Next you're going to tell me that iceberg lettuce has basically no nutritional value!

Actually, my former manager just brought me the NYTimes Magazine this article appeared in for me to read--can you believe some people still subscribe ;)... anyway, it is rather fascinating and considering I just read an article today that a calorie is a calorie is a calorie--relevant. I think perhaps, in the grand scheme of things, not all calories are created equal. Even more interesting in the magazine is the article on Hugo Chavez... I wonder if a trip to Venezuela would get me on the no fly list?

I'm telling you, Nikki - if you want to be on the no fly list, I'm sure simply expressing the thought will help get you there!