Alice Waters' Call to Arms

Some of y'all know how in the last couple of years I've learned a lot about food and nutrition, and tried to get better at eating better. But it hasn't been just about my health, it's really been an embrace of the whole philosophy of a lifestyle that is better tasting, better for me, better for the country, and better for the earth, and a rejection of modern America's food-industrial complex and all its cheap, processed crap. Like milk. I didn't even like milk growing up, and now I like nothing less than the creamy straight-from-the-cow goodness that you can get at farmers' markets and some stores. It makes regular milk seem like milky water, plus it's chemical-free. And you all know how I am about coffee. No brown water for me, thanks.

But aside from enjoying things that are more tasty and more real, it's also about supporting conscientious producers who are better stewards of their animals, their land, their product. Another element is patronizing local producers when possible to support local economies and regional food diversity. I rather enjoy trying to live "off the grid" by not spending my few dollars on commoditized, processed box-food or at chain restaurants (unless they support these ways).

And just so I don't seem like a hypocrite if you catch me at Wal-Mart one day, I don't grow stuff, don't really cook from scratch, and do eat some frozen foods (but mainly just Boca stuff and the like). But I do try to enact these principles where I can, in a way that makes sense for my lifestyle and my wallet.

All this might not seem like a big deal to some of you have been at it for longer than I or who live in places where these ways are not uncommon, like in Cali where it's all around you. But down here in Mobile, AL it's not a common mindset and its not simple to fully live and eat this way. After all, Mobile is the chain-restaurant-and-SUV capital of the South! But it is getting better here. But I digress...

The point of this post is really just to call your attention to a nice article in today's NYT, Lunch With Alice Waters, Food Revolutionary. It uses a bountiful trip to the Union Square Greenmarket (which has good milk) and subsequent lunch to talk about Waters' new book and about her ongoing mission to get us to be "a country full of people who eat food that is good for them, good for the people who grow it and good for the earth." I'm all about that. And it you want to go further, check out Michael Pollan's book from last year, The Omnivore's Dilemma.

Bon appetit!

PS...This post does actually relate back to the original subject of this blog, because having pet chickens, learning about chickens, going to their farm of origin a few times, getting excited about fresh eggs....these were some of the many puzzle pieces that came together over time to make me want to "eat better" in the ways described above. Thank you Scratch & Scout!