You know you want to know! I’ve got a confession to make. I think it’s really sexy when my husband does the dishes. I also get excited when I find someone who’s as passionately devoted to Real Food as I am. I also like to have fun. That’s why I created this quiz.
Corn, Corn, Everywhere Corn!
Here’s a sneak peek from the second lesson in my Real Food Nutrition & Health E-Course. The second lesson is on Healthy Fats & Oils, and I took the opportunity to introduce the ever ubiquitous presence of corn in the industrial food chain. There are a host of lessons that single topic could fit into, but I figured it should be introduced early on. So, I bring it up when discussing how out of balance the Standard American Diet is in Omega 6 to Omega 3 fatty acids (at a ratio of 20:1) when compared to traditional people groups (a ratio at or near 1:1). This, of course, is due in no small part to feeding farm animals large quantities of corn.
Anyhow, I thought you’d appreciate another Sneak Peek Video. Enjoy!
Am I an Orthorexic?
The first time I heard about orthorexia was while reading Michael Pollan’s book In Defense of Food. The term was coined by California doctor Steven Bratman in 1997 and used to describe those with a “healthy eating disorder.” In other words, it’s meant to describe those people who are “obsessed” with making healthy food choices.
I tried to imagine the average orthorexic. What does it mean, after all, to be “obsessed” with eating healthy, real, nourishing foods? And could it be a bad thing? Perhaps the average orthorexic never or rarely eats out because they know the food they’re being served is the product of the industrial food chain. Or maybe they refuse certain foods at social functions because of the food’s indeterminate origins.
Oh wait. That pretty much describes me and about half my friends. Does our desire to feed ourselves and our children the healthiest food possible mean that we’ve got a mental disorder? I didn’t think so.
Spread The Real Food Love
I haven’t shared a Link Love post in quite a while, so I figured you guys were due! Once again, I hope you find these tantalizing tid bits of research, recipes, and articles as interesting as I do.
Supreme Court Hears Case Against Monsanto & GMOs
Today the United States Supreme Court is hearing the case of Monsanto vs. Geertson Seed Farms, which began in the lower courts back in 2006. A coalition of alfalfa farmers (conventional and organic), with the help of the Center for Food Safety (CFS) sued the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) over the USDA’s approval of Monsanto’s genetically engineered “Roundup Ready” alfalfa. The plant, like Roundup Ready soybeans and other crops, had been engineered to withstand repeated spraying of Monsanto’s herbicide Roundup. Farmers and environmental advocates warned about the unintended spread of Monsanto’s patented variety of alfalfa, given that alfalfa is pollinated by bees that can fly many miles distance.
Court after court sided with CFS against the USDA. The history of this case is actually quite encouraging.
Real Food LOVE
It’s been a couple of weeks since my last Real Food Link Love post, and I have collected some really tasty, tantalizing, practical, and exciting things to share with you!
Michael Pollan On The Daily Show
Michael Pollan interviewed by Jon Stewart. How can that be anything but perfectly entertaining?
Pollan is promoting his newest book. Yes, you loved him for The Omnivore’s Dilemma. And you probably enjoyed In Defense of Food. His newest book is more like a pamphlet. It’s called Food Rules, and is on sale at Amazon for mere $5.50. The new book contains 64 food rules which Pollan collected from people around the world. The few I’ve read are simple, funny, and fairly well on-target. I can’t wait to get my hands on the rest to see whether they’re all as good.
The segment began with Jon Stewart asking a straightforward question: Name one over-arching rule that summarizes the book.
Michael Pollan on Cooking As Soulcraft
I like listening to Michael Pollan speak. He has a very honest-sounding voice, and is as engaging when talking as he is when writing.
Last week he wrote a lengthy piece in The New York Times Magazine called “Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch,” in which he observed that the average American spends more time watching people cook on television than they do actually cooking.
Food Inc Came To Austin And I Saw It
If you live in or around the Austin area, now’s your chance to see Food, Inc. It’s playing at the Alamo Ritz and Arbor Great Hills theaters. Friday afternoon my mom drove into town, and I announced, “We’re going on a hot date.”
Of course, I took her to see Food, Inc. I’m not sure how “hot” the date was — other than the 105 degree heat that persisted right up until showtime. After the movie, we dropped by Kerbey Lane for coffee and a delicious key lime cheesecake. (Rare indulgences like this are worth it when you’re out on a once-a-decade, exclusively mother-daughter date.) Our patio seating was pleasant compared to earlier in the day, but still a humid 90 plus degrees.
Being a blogger who is also a passionate advocate for Real Food, I’ve heard and read a lot about the film. Needless to say, I was mildly excited.
Food Inc. Director Rober Kenner Speaks
By now, you’ve probably all heard about the new film Food, Inc. directed by Robert Kenner. (And if you haven’t, it will be my pleasure to introduce it to you.) The documentary about our nation’s food supply has been released in selected theaters in the U.S., and will have a wider release within the next month.
From all I’ve heard, the film is like a cross between the two most influential food journalism books of the last decade, The Omnivore’s Dilemma and Fast Food Nation, and the documentary film The Future of Food. It even features frequent voice overs by Pollan and Schlosser.
The Washington Post ran an interview with Rober Kenner, the film’s director, in yesterday’s paper. I loved a couple of Kenner’s point blank answers to the criticism the film’s received from giant agribusiness, and thought I’d share some excerpts from the interview with you: