If you eat food, this is a book you ought to read. America is so dependent on big ag, big corn, and fossil fuel-based calories. Even if you attempt to go organic - say by buying Horizon - you end up being part of the industrial food machine. We are what we eat, and we should know what we are. Nor would such a culture [not the US, but a culture in possession of deeply rooted traditions surrounding food and eating] be shocked to discover that there are other countries, such as Italy and France, that decide their dinner questions on the basis of such quaint and unscientific criteria as pleasure and tradition, eat all manner of “unhealthy” foods, and, lo and behold, wind up actually healthier and happier in their eating than we are.We show our surprise at this by speaking of something called the “French paradox,” for how could a people who eat such demonstrably toxic substances as foie gras and triple crème cheese actually be slimmer and healthier than we are? Yet I wonder if it doesn’t make more sense to speak in terms of an American paradox—that is, a notably unhealthy people obsessed by the idea of eating healthily.
The Omnivore's Dilemma |