Re: Ch. 5 - The processing plant : making complex foods
Some musings on calorie-free food:
In the Chapter 3 discussion, Mr. P says:
"...Pollan also mentions some chicanery in food science in which there are developments in foods that do not get digested, and thus do not fill our bellies...and thus will have us spending more on industrial food. What the fuck!? Does this not piss everyone else off?"
Pissed me off royally! I have been ranting about this since reading it a month ago! It is as if we know nothing other than "I want what I want and I want it now." It strikes me that this is the same dilemma as our looming energy problems. Rather than moving to a way of living that requires less energy in order to preserve our limited resources, we are trying to use technology to solve the problem for us, by attempting to produce as much energy from wind, geothermal, solar, etc., that oil has provided us for the last century. And don't get me started on nuclear!
How about learning to love carrots and celery for snacks rather than calorie-free processed food? How about learning to use less air conditioning/heating or walking instead of driving rather than burning more oil. We do not do well with saying "no" to ourselves. Was this true 100 years ago, but there were not the material substances to indulge in? Or have we changed?
I have been wondering if this "I want what I want and I want it now" is a North American trait or human nature? On the side of human nature, the Easter Islanders did say "Got to have more statues, regardless of the consequences." Perhaps we North Americans revere our Starbucks coffee and Krispy Kremes in the same way that the Easter Islanders revered their statues. Here in my part of Canada, there are a whole lot more people who spend Sunday mornings at Tim Horton's having doughnuts and coffee before the little league game than in church like they used to 50 years ago. Are we being lead by industry in the same way we used to be lead by the church?
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