Let's Talk: My Declaration of Independence
35 Comments
After writing so many cookbooks, after leaving the confines of Manhattan for open-pastured New England, and after embracing everything seasonal and organic in the past few years, Bruce and I might as well be card-carrying foodies.
Except I've recently burned my card. It happened when I read this among Michael Pollan’s many food rules: It’s not food if it arrived through your car window.
That did it—even though I’d already looked the other way after reading his article in The New York Times blaming women for the obesity epidemic. Even though I’d bit my tongue when Alice Waters told viewers on 60 Minutes to buy organic grapes rather than a second pair of designer sneakers. Even though I’d chalked up Jonathan Safran Foer’s claims about the complex emotional life of chickens to a hipster misfire.
No, it's the sheer elitism of Pollan’s it’s not food that caused me to torch my foodie card. Not It’s not real food. Nor It’s not the best food for me. Instead, It’s not food.
Did you catch those words? He gets to decide what's food. Not what's good for me. What's food.
I'm done. I’m tired of the scolding, the better-than-thou approach, tired of the pronouncements lobbed down on our heads from Mount Smarter-Than-You-Berkeley or Mount Slower-Than-You-Tuscany or wherever. I can’t drop a hundred bucks every couple days at schmancy farmers’ markets. And I won’t mill my own flour. Or (as you well know if you've read the HAM book) make my own prosciutto.
I, like everyone else, need solutions that work for real people who want to eat real food. And as the saying goes: “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.”
These days, the solution the foodies offer is just more distilled outrage. We’re all drunk on it anyway, swinging wildly at the rubes, be they conservative or liberal, evangelical or atheist, foodie or fast-food maven. We then slur the praises of our own righteousness. Look at how stupid those other people are!
But it’s not just besotted puritanism among the foodies. It’s rank silliness, sounding clever, signifying nothing. Don’t ingest foods made in places where everyone is required to wear a surgical cap, Pollan offers as another rule.
So no cheese? Not even the artisanal stuff? Because everyone who makes it in the United States wears a cap. It’s good hygiene. And it’s the law.
Enough with the snootiness that says real food isn’t found in a can. There are jarred pasta sauces made with real tomatoes, flavorful herbs, great olive oil.
Enough with the myopia that restricts me to my supermarket’s periphery. There are fine choices in those center aisles: whole grains, excellent boxed cereals, maple syrup from small producers.
Enough with the pretension. There are plenty of reasons to own a microwave. I can make killer mashed potatoes in mine. From real spuds, too.
We don’t need outrage. No one will change because of a clarion call to throw out everything in the pantry. It’s just too hard, too expensive, and too unforgiving.
We need grace—like what’s found in fresh blueberries: juicy, sweet, a little tart under the skin. They may not have been picked at its best, they may have ripened a bit on the truck, but they can still put us on the road to better choices right from our local supermarket. It’s not a rule; it’s a delicious choice among many.
So I’m done with the outrage and snobbery. Which probably means I’m a foodie no more. Real food can come in my car window anytime. Especially when I’m in Texas, at a local barbecue joint, the brisket sweet and decadent, worth every drip on my shirt.
Reader Comments (35)
Mark, this had me yelling WHOO HOOO sitting here in my garden. Thank you for saying the things I've been wanting to shout from the rooftops. I'm burning my foodie card too. Yay for you.
A really great post, Mark.
The eternal appeal of reinvention -- it's part of what makes us Americans, isn't it? It's not enough to take positive, constructive steps in the right direction; no, you have to cast off your old life, purge yourself of your old ways and habits, and you will come out of it a new person -- cleansed and purified. (Any religious overtones in the preceding sentence are purely intentional on my part.)
I'd like to think that, all things considered, Pollan and Waters are still fighting the good fight, but you're absolutely right that there's a problem of tone (or deafness thereof) that sticks in the craw.
I keep going back to the notion that healthy eating requires at least two of the following three things: knowledge/skills, money, and time. Somebody who's struggling to make ends meet and raise a family can read all the Michael Pollan books in the world, but if he's not helping them find ways to eat healthier within the limitations of their lives (little time and little money), he's not really helping. And in this society, telling people who live from paycheck to paycheck to just "find the time" is every bit as callous as telling them to just "make more money."
Lu: Thanks so much!
Steve: I think Pollan is trying desperately to make a buck and has found his niche in the food world where he sends down dictums that sound clever but aren't at all. And Waters? She's too much a myopic elitist for me. It's hard for me to stomach the fact that she advocates all this buying of organic food while paying her employees so little that they are on food stamps.
M.
I'm a little afraid to wade in here because you're obviously quite pissed off & heated, and I'd hate to be on the receiving end of your vitriol (to which you have every right), but I guess I feel this way: many (but not all) big food companies manufacture foods that might not qualify as "real." They therefore occupy one end of the spectrum. Pollan and Waters et al are presenting the spectrum's far opposite end. What's realistic & comfortable for many people probably lies somewhere in the middle.
That said, I still give Waters/Pollan props for laying their stakes in the ground where they did. It's easier to settle in and find where we stand as individuals along this vast spectrum when the lines are so clearly demarcated on either side.
But maybe I'm an idiot.
As one who has tried to figure out how to cook better, healthier food for my family I appreciate Mark's point of view. I have been a working mom, and am now a stay at home mom and I have more time to cook for my family. I am no chef, but I am striving to deliver healthy, real food meals for my family. Real Food Has Curves, has helped me to make real food available for my family. It is not overly time consuming and we've begun to slow down and enjoy our dinner time much more. The problem that I see with Waters and Pollan, is that their philosophy and ideas do not work for normal families. They seem to be out of touch with reality.
I have begun reading Real Food Has Curves for over a week. I have done some of the exercises and the biggest one that helped was the cleaning of the pantry. I was able to realize what "real food" is and get rid of the food that wasn't as healthy for my family. I am enjoying preparing healthy meals and shopping for the food to make them.
Thank you Mark, for helping me to serve Real Food to my family and getting me away from the ease of prepackaged meals. Your approach is more for the everyday family and is doable even for two parent working families. Will I be making the danishes that look so good, but would take a great deal of time and effort? Probably not, but if I ever get a kitchen with more than 2 feet of counter space it's one of the first recipes that I'd love to try and impress my husband.
Thanks Mark, for helping real people understand and appreciate real food.
Thanks, Dawn. We wrote RFHC with Safeway (or Stop-&-Shop or Albertson's or Kroger's) in mind, not Whole Foods. While WF is great and wonderful--how could I, an Austin guy, think otherwise?--I don't think it's where most people shop. In fact, I'm bored with the notion that it's all farmers' markets and WF. And I shop at both all the time! But we mostly shop at the run-of-the-mill grocery store and know that real food is available there--and at a better price.
Cheryl, I really don't know how to respond. Pissed off? I don't think so. Impassioned, perhaps. But kicking idols is rarely a matter of mere vitriol. I guess I reject the terms of your argument: the allegedly polar poles of the overly processed and Alice Waters. In fact, I would argue they are fairly close to each other, especially given her unfair labor practices while she builds her lovely homes in the Yellowstone Club and wherever else. Cooking an egg on an antique spoon in front of a Tuscan oven (as she did for Leslie Stahl) is no solution at all. It is mere smoke and mirrors, another false idol, the same way a big agri-producer creates and promotes the false idols of fat-free this and low-carb that, meanwhile offering fare that's really just a mishmash of high chemical signatures. Perhaps this confluence of similarities between the two is one of the reasons she recently got booed off the stage at one of the country's highest-end prep schools. In the end, I believe creativity is found by rejecting the false antinomies set up for us by various for-profit enterprises and instead trying to find real solutions outside the (false) parenthesis of this rather tired argument.
M.
Hi Mark - I just completed reading Real Food Has Curves and what an eye opener!! In the past I have paid more attention to calorie counting and minimal attention to actual ingredients. Now I feel enlightened and am reading EVERYTHING, even at WF and Trader Joe's (there are a few things that I have put back on the shelf!). Just wanted to thank you for such a GREAT read. Not only was the information valuable, the whole book was soooo entertaining (I am still chuckling at a bun being an oversized throat lozenge!!). Looking forward to reading more from you in the future. Oh, and I tried my first recipe...Honey Banana Bread. The family loved them! Thanks again.
TSA
Well said.
Thank you.
Amen, Mark! You are definitely still a foodie to me! In the best sense of the word! You genuinely care, like the rest of us reading your wonderful posts, about food, which will always put you in the category of foodie! As usual, many people in this country go too far with the rhetoric and make us feel bad if we buy one thing that might be construed as not the "healthiest." Everything in moderation, right? I refuse to give up a good, homemade sausage calzone every now and then!
I couldn't have said this better myself! Michael Pollan makes me cringe, at best. His writing comes off smug and sanctimonious, which I believe actually undermines any effort to eat better, and inspire better eating. All this time I've resisted the "foodie" label, for the exact reasons you lay out here. I thought it was just me... :)
Hey, let's NOT burn our foodie cards... let's own them, and our own notion of what they mean. I know what tastes good, and why, but it's not always feasible, affordable, or available. I am a foodie, dangit, but I certainly can't devote my life to the pursuit. And I like some of Michael Pollan's ideas, but his last book was just ridiculous. Maybe he should have called it "My Food Rules", or "Rules No One Can Live By but Me". I like your surgical cap example, because the fact is, none of this is black and white. Most of us are moderates in all aspects of our lives (politics, religion, food), but we are made to feel like we have to choose from one extreme or the other.
And I usually use the peach analogy - juicy, sweet, fuzzy on the outside, but a little bit tart too. Not always perfect, but worth trying.
Many, many thanks, everyone! It's blisteringly hot here in Connecticut today and yet it feels a little better for this discussion.
Trish: Thanks so much for liking the book. I do believe it's the most important we've ever written. I tried very hard to give real-world solutions, not just ridiculous idealistic aphorisms or dictums. I have tried to live that book every day.
And Kori: I'm with you. Let's own them! An even better solution.
M.
I have really enjoyed this discussion and agree with most comments. I live in the country - grow veggies, fruit, chickens, raise goats for meat/dairy and while we do have a great small natural foods coop about 15 miles away I can't always afford it.
I do go to the farmers market - but sometimes you'll find me shopping at a regular grocery store or God forbid Wal-Mart- hey, this is rural, choices are limited and expensive. I can afford the coop at times for selected items but I often think of the families, with five or more hungry kids. It saddens me when I see their carts at Wal-Mart but that is what they know (education - gov. policy is needed) and can afford. It is a complex issue - but one that needs empathy and kindness.
Best to all- Greg
Mark, I have recently stumbled upon your blog and what a delight it is. I have stopped lurking only to say that if I thought I loved you before, I now know I do! Thanks for reminding me that grace is welcoming and accessible and sometimes served up on a plate.
I have a totally different gripe. My gripe is with "healthy" -- healthy food, healthy recipes, eating healthy. Real food is healthy. Faux food is not healthy.
I'm with you on buying real food at real grocery stores. I also do most of my shopping at a regular grocery. In my neck of the woods, it's cheaper to shop at the grocery than it is to shop at the farmer's market. I DO shop at the farmer's market because I think the food is a better quality, but it's not less expensive.
Lovely tantrum about being reasonable. Thanks!
I am a card-carrying Slow Food member, co-op/farmer's market shopper and yes, I also shop at Whole Foods. YOU SAID IT BEST! Michael Pollan, while having made a contribution with The Omnivore's Dilemma, has been milking the same cow for years now. His books are essentially the same. And Alice Waters believes in her own sainthood. Mark, the idea of Real Food is to make it accessible, whcih you and Bruce have done. I too am tired of the elitism and the snobbery and the attitude of moral superiority on the part of some of alleged leading lights of the locavore/organic/slow food movement.
I'm a foodie. And I like Marshmallow Peeps (my easter dinner last year was a grilled panini of ciabatta, natural homemade peanut butter and marshmallow Peeps). Mmmmm!
Petra: Me, too, to be frank. I was into slow food back in 2001. I belong to a CSA. I go to all the local farmers' markets. I don't eat meat unless I know the farmer--and preferably the animal. I'm crazed with locavore stuff. And yet. And yet. And yet. I can't deal with the attitude. I'm percolating an idea about it, thanks in large part to some of the posts here. I'll try to say more later this week.
M.
Mark,
I LOVE you in a way that only a wayward child or an old Auntie can, because you welcome all to your table.
You have properly placed the blame for many of us giving up on eating "Right" on the food snobs who say that if it is not from the farmers market or whole foods it is wrong and bad.
I spent many years working toward a more chemical free house when my kids were little (vinegar is a wonder) but when it cam to food, 4 kids in 6 years makes the WF, Trader Joes, farmers market shopping impossible. I wish I had found our book Real Food Has Curves sooooooo many years ago. I went the conventional way and bought food in boxes "cause kids like it better" what a shameful excuse it seems now.
For lunch we had whole grain crackers with Feta, Honey and pepper and guess what kids like that too. better really! They commented that it had flavor! Your are a HERO to those of us who are stuck using the regular market. Mine really does have a lot of real food now that I know what to look for.
Keep popping holes in the stuffed shirts that decree what "food" is and opening the door to the real people to find good food!!
I will be placing a copy of our book Real Food Has Curves in my kids school libraries so that others can find a gem of reality.
Please keep up the good work. You have many blog stalkers that are trying real food because of your inspiring words!
Try to keep cool,
Tina
Late to the discussion but had to say three cheers for rejecting snobbery and judgment. Everyone has to find their own way when it comes to growing and changing, and I can't think of two things more calculated to put people off exploring making real changes in their lives and diets. I think it's important to remember that *every* food choice we make as consumers, in this computerized world where everything is tracked, can send a message, and to think about what message we want to send. And to remember, while doing so, that being mindful doesn't make us better than anyone else--usually just luckier to have the time and money to facilitate those choices and opportunities.
Just a little more fuel for the "elitist" fire. This is an event that I would love to attend, and I'm sure it will be delightful, but check out the price, PER PERSON. Honestly, that's ridiculous. It's like a political fund-raiser! And frankly, my husband and I can't afford it. We don't spend that in a normal week of eating.
"On July 18, a six-course Farm to Table dinner sponsored by Slow Food Northern NJ will be held at Plaid Piper Farm, 197 Wykertown Road, Branchville, to benefit the earth stewardship and food justice programs of Slow Food Northern NJ. Chef Joseph Cerniglia, owner of Campania Restaurant, Fair Lawn, will prepare the dinner with food sourced from Plaid Piper Farm and from artisans within a small distance of the farm. Organic/sustainable wines will be paired with each course, and bagpipers will perform traditional music on the hillside. 4 to 7 PM; $155."
I've been pondering the same things you talk about in this post, Mark. I enjoyed reading Pollan's books - they do give one lots of food for thought, but when I saw his book "Food Rules", I realized that it was simply a money making project. Instead of publishing it and charging a ridiculous amount for so few words, Pollan could have done us the service of posting his rules on his blog to share with the world. I guess he wasn't satisfied by the income he has had from his other books.
And as with your other commenters, I agree that the Slow Food Movement and the "Out in the Fields" dinners are way beyond the ordinary folk. They are elitist simply because they are so expensive. I imagine that many of the people whose farm fresh food is used for events cannot themselves afford the prices charged.
Let's look at food as something to give us pleasure and sustenance but not snob appeal!
Kori: Ah, yes, the food biz. It's hard to remember that's it's a for-profit business. And even fund raisers like that one go to keep some people in business. And then there's the "rich factor" thing. We have taught classes at a couple high-end hotels where we believe the cost of the room INCLUDES an additional $1000 per night "just to keep the riffraff out." You know, the room is really worth, maybe, $400 a night, but it goes for $1400 a night, just to make sure the "right" people are there.
And Nigel: First, welcome here. And second, you're dead on. Our new book, RFHC, is all about trying to bring the notion of pleasure front and center back into the things we eat. We are creatures that run on pleasure. We better embrace it. It's what we've got!
M.
I have a different take on Michael Pollan's books on food. Each of his books has been shorter and easier to read than the one before it. I can't help but wonder, especially with the last book, if they're not designed to appeal to different groups of people. I know plenty of people who wouldn't consider reading The Omnivore's Dilemma or even In Defense of Food, but they might read Food Rules. It's less expensive, shorter and much easier to understand.
I'm pretty sure that if I asked shoppers at the farmer's market or Whole Foods, 90% of the people would know about Michael Pollan and his message. However, if I asked at the regular grocery stores, including Wal Mart and other big box stores, I'd be surprised if 10% of the people knew about him. I think Food Rules ought to be at the checkout lanes of every grocery. It may be overkill for us, but it's still news to many, many people.
I think you and Pollan are saying the same thing -- just using different words. You call it real food and fake food; he calls it food and edible food-like substances. There's still a huge number of people who don't know that, in general, what comes through the car window isn't (real) food.
Sally: Well, I guess. But I'm going to write something rather harsh: I think most of what Pollan does is so foodies will furiously nod their heads in unison. The rest of the population, the vast majority, then continue to feel bad about their choices--and give up altogether.
And again, those rules. They don't make sense. "Shop the periphery of your supermarket"? Has he even been in one lately? The periphery of mine here in the country is full of candy and sweet rolls and extruded meat and processed cheese and carbonated beverages. If I stuck to that periphery, I'd miss the maple syrup, oats, whole grains, and many other great things in those center aisles. So again, that rule is to make foodies nod their heads in a knowing chorus. But it doesn't really work out in real life. It's clever without being illuminating. Like so very much.
M.
Well said. Some of the best things are in the middle aisles. Hell, here in Maryland Safeway and Giant sometimes pairs veggies that are on sale in the center aisles with other boxed food such as cereal. Honey, maple syrup, olive oil, flour, grains, those are all in the middle. I read Pollan's book and it was an eye opener. I am doing my best to stay away from processed foods for my family as best as I can.
Once in awhile though, it won't kill you to treat yourself to something "bad". It's all in moderation. I cook at home every night when I get home from work and do more ambitious things on weekends. Sometimes though, ordering in a pizza is just the thing we need after a rough week at work.
I don't think Pollan (and others who spread similar messages) is responsible for people just giving up in regards to food. While they add to the information out there, the vast majority of the confusion and frustration comes from all the conflicting information that appears daily in the media. People are tired of the "what's good (or bad) today will be bad (or good) ten years from now. " A lot of people tuned out before The Omnivore's Dilemma or any of his other books and articles were published.
Though I'm not interested in every new trend that comes down the pike, I am interested in food and its relationship to health -- so I guess I'm a foodie. I'm constantly amazed at how many people aren't at all aware of any of this.
Jen: Terrific! I think there's so much out there that's so amazing to eat. And hey, pizza can definitely be real food. There are plenty of pizzas on this blog. And there are plenty of pizzas in parlors across the country that would certainly count as real food, no questions asked.
Sally Yep, I agree. I overstated. It's not "their fault." Again, it's the self-righteous tone that I detest. But I, too, am interested in food and health. I'm simply uninterested in the rank fetishization that comes with it all these days, brought on I would say by the foodies and their various rules, many of which don't really work out in the real world for real people. You've clearly shown yourself, by your comments on this blog, to be in a place that's both wholesome and humble, a gorgeous rarity in the food debates.
M.
Thank you! I love this post.
I'm late to this party but woo hoo, great post! If I were in Texas, I surely wouldn't pass up that paper plate of bbq brisket up, nor the lobster roll in Maine or even the boiled peanuts in Georgia that are my secret vice. That's why car windows roll down as well as up!
It serves no point to be a food snob when there are so many delicious choices out there. It's all a matter of balance, and once in a while if I find some ribs and corn in front of me, well hoo boy, I'm diggin' in, because most of the time I'm also digging into healthy, whole foods. And I'll enjoy it too, the same way I enjoy eating a fresh peach over the sink, because food doesn't just nourish the body, it nourishes the soul, too.
Great blog!
Thanks, Marci and Patty! And welcome here, too.
M.
I have to say I agree with Sally as that was exactly my take on the books as well. I really enjoyed Omnivore's Dilemna but I don't read very many factual books (apart from cookbooks I'm mostly a fiction fanatic - preferably the kind that's nothing like real life at all, science fiction etc.) so I did find it toughgoing at times. In Defence of Food did seem to be, for want of a better word, much 'simpler' so although it tackled things from a slightly different perspective than Omnivore, it wasn't quite such a tome of a book, which might be off-putting to many people. After that, I actually saw Food Inc. and really thought 'hey, this is for people who would never bother to pick up a book'. I felt like I'd kind of wasted my time watching it as I didn't learn anything I hadn't read before but at the same time I could see the value of it as it's much easier to mention to friends that there's this documentary they should watch rather than trying to get them to read a lengthy book (especially as most of my friends are mums of young kids with little time to spare). I did think Food Rules was taking things a bit far but again saw it mainly as appealing to a different audience. The ones who want to lose 200lbs in 20 days and learn about the 10 easy steps to becoming tall, dark and handsome despite the fact that you're five foot nothing with blond hair and...well, you know what I mean.
My brother is usually the conspiracy theory nut in the family but it must be rubbing off on me because now I'm wondering if the supermarkets have rearranged their layout since Pollan started advocating only shopping the periphery. That advice certainly tends to hold true in Europe (well, in Germany and Ireland anyway) still - is it only in the last few years that you've noticed a change? Just curious.
Moonwaves: I don't think so. At least not here in the US. As far as I know, supermarkets have always had the donut-laden bakeries, the candy bar sections, and other empty calorie fare at the perimeter. My guess is that Pollan hasn't been in a real supermarket in years--and so is going on a mental notion. But what do I know? Maybe supermarkets are different in Berkeley.
M.
Hi , Mark what fantastic posts. You hit the nail on the head. I think foodies are snobs, ( my thought, not yours) but maybe they have the money to be. I don't- so I buy healthy foods, usually from Target or the Walmart neighborhood markets. My favorite store is The Fresh Market , it is like Whole Foods, but cheaper. I find the healthy foods in all these stores and if it is too expensive, I don't buy it. I have 2 of your cookbooks and plan on buying RFHC as soon as possible. Thanks for all you do. Your blog is beautiful and full of your heart and your soul. On the funny side I now eat dark chocolate candy bars instead of milk chocolate. It makes me feel so healthy! If anyone is wondering I grew up in Oklahoma, where every family I knew ate healthy. That is the way our mothers cooked back then. I hope to aspire to be as good of a cook as my mom was, and her mother was- from generation to generation- that sounds so nice and simple to me.
Well said! I hate snobs of all kinds, and food snobs are the worst. I once had a food snob girlfriend who went on and on about how bloody great truffle oil was. When I did some research and pointed out their was no truffles in the oil at all, she deflated like a burst balloon. Priceless!