Food For Your Brain

By Dean Williamson, 6-08-09

Michael Pollan started it, at least on the national scale it has reached today . . .  and the criticism of the American industrial food system continues to grow.  That’s good news, I would think, for everyone.  More information means we can make better and better-educated decisions, in this case, about what we eat.  And, what’s more important than what we put into our bodies?

Information and revelations like Pollan’s may mean that we think twice before heading for a fast food drive-through, but then, what’s wrong with thinking twice?

And, so it is today, that the attack on the American industrial food system continues, with the release of a new documentary:  Food, Inc.  For a review of the film, check out what the New York Times has to say.

Food, Inc. has a limited release, so don’t rush out to the theater just yet.

But combine these with King Corn and the Future of Food , and Super Size Me, and there are enough food films to make you consider never eating again—at least, never eating food produced from the industrial process.

While we’re touting information, I highly recommend Fast Food Nation, an unflinching look at every aspect of the fast food industry, from the harrowing slaughterhouses to the marketing campaigns . . . well worth your time

Of course, there is the Bible of food, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, by Michael Pollan, a riveting look at the ethics and consequences of the way we eat---and an unapologetic call to know what you are putting into your body.

What all these have in common is an urgent call to reveal what is in the food that we are eating. Sure, there will be lots of outcry, especially from big food producers, but those are largely the sounds of fear and paranoia—that their practices are being exposed for the unethical, unhealthy, unsustainable house of cards that they are.

As usual, local is the way.  Know your farmer—know your food.