After the release of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, Fast Food Nation, and In Defense of Food, food politics has become an increasingly well-researched and popular topic. Assessing the context of our food and rethinking how we approach it has raised eyebrows and gained legions of converts within the last decade or so.
Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food, has a pithy piece of advice for anyone trying to figure out how to live well, eat well, and love food again: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” This has become an “Om” in the food politics community; it is the equivalent of the golden rule to those advocating more conscious eating. Underneath the food politics umbrella you have the slow food movement, the organic movement, the mindful eating movement, the raw food movement, to name some of the most prominent, each with their own ideology. It is often hard, however, to translate their somewhat esoteric hymns.
Enter Mark Bittman. He is a food writer for The New York Times, and a self-proclaimed minimalist when it comes to food. Less is more/focus on quality not quantity/put those Cheetos down. His columns and blog are not just exclusive to recipes or culinary tips. He often enlightens his readers on the beauty and the importance of the food we take for granted. He is, essentially, a How-To for anybody wishing to follow Michael Pollan’s advice.
In this TED Conference talk Mark widens the scope a bit more. He effectively links our eating patterns with our planet’s well being. According to his funny and persuasive talk, our meat-, junk food-, convenience-heavy diet is not only killing us, but our planet as well.
For anyone wondering, yes, he is this playful and passionate in his writings as well. Enjoy (your food).
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