The Way We Eat

One of the things I miss most about my house in Portland is the kitchen. I used to cook wholesome meals on a regular basis, grilled veggies in the summertime, kale and baked squash in the fall. Now I don't have the means for that kind of eating.

I've always been fond of cooking from scratch, but lately, as in the past few years, the level of scrutiny my food undergoes has reached a fever pitch. What is it, what is it made of, what kind of essential nutrients does it contain? Where did it come from, what has been done to it, what has it been sprayed with? I'm obsessed with the content of my meals, and I know I'm not the only one. All over America, Whole Foods and Wild Oats are rising up to replace Safeways and QFCs. There are a dozen farmers' markets in Portland alone. I have to wonder if all this obsession with something we can control is a result of being exposed to so many aspects of life we CAN'T control, like being spied upon by the Department of Homeland Security.

Is it a coincidence that all this interest in the quality and origin of our foods has come about at a time when we truly have so little control over the acts being perpetrated in our name by the government, indeed over the nature and composition of the government itself? And is it a coincidence that America's obsession with the content, origin, and quality of its food has originated with the same group of Americans most likely to feel disenfranchised? I guess time will tell...maybe by this time in 2009 I'll be enjoying a Big Mac.