Sunday, April 13, 2008

Food for thought

The bookclub that I'm in is reading The Ominvore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan this month. I guess since I've been gardening, and reading that book, I've had food on the brain. While at the library I stumbled upon a really excellent book by Jane Goodall, called Harvest for Hope. Her writing style makes the information presented there extremely accessible to the average reader. While I think that some of her numbers are twisted for affect, the overall message is that we need to realize how the choices we make at the dinner table contributes to the overall health of the environment, and the treatment of animals and humans worldwide. I think the thing that has struck me most in my reading lately is just how much the government is wrapped up in the protection of corporate welfare rather than the welfare of the people. Not sure why that surprises me - I guess because I like to think that we've come a lot further in the 100 years since Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle. Which isn't to say that regulations have done nothing to keep us safer, but there are new risks to the consumer that are largely being ignored. This book would be a good introduction to get you thinking about the food in your local supermarket and at your table.

1 comment:

Kila said...

Yeah, pretty much everything I eat freaks me out, no matter how plain and whole and healthy is it. Nothing is safe anymore! Yet it doesn't stop me from eating too much...! But maybe with national health care would come food rations to keep us all thin and healthy... Nah, Frito Lay probably has good lobbyists...