Sustainability

While I don't usually get a chance to watch Oprah (I believe Jack's Big Music Show conflicts with the scheduling!), I do like to scope out upcoming episodes so I can set the tivo to catch it. When I scrolled through the listings for this week, I was thrilled to see that yesterday's episode would focus on food, where we get, how it is farmed, and how we should be eating. Right up my alley!

When I sat down last night to watch it, I was even more tickled to see Michael Pollan, author of "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and contributor to the brilliant documentary "Food Inc." was her featured guest. If you have not seen "Food Inc." I can't recommend it enough. That documentary, along with Eric Schlosser's "Fast Food Nation," will definitely give you food for thought on what you should (and should not) be eating!

What I love about Michael Pollan is that he is so realistic in discussing food. He knows that Americans are not going to give up their processed and fast foods cold turkey. So he offers the simple, but genius, credo of "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

Fruits, vegetables and whole grains should make up the bulk of one's diet. But he's not saying to give up meat and go vegan. Not at all.

Instead, he encourages us to buy grass-fed beef (meat from cows that have been allowed to graze on grass, their God-intended diet). Organic, free-range chickens (birds that have not been pumped full of antibiotics and growth hormones to produce larger breasts). He even condones getting your junk food fix on every once in awhile - with the caveat to fix it yourself. That way you know what is going into it, and in the case of french fries, you know what a hassle they are to make!

It is all about sustainable eating. Sustaining not only your own personal health and wellness, but the health and wellness of the planet.

I am happy to see Oprah doing a show dedicated to this topic because she is definitely a powerhouse. Her involvement and endorsement of sustainable eating will likely be a boon for organic farmers and producers, who do not receive the subsidies from the government and who's livelihood depends on consumers like you and I making the conscious choice to buy organic. Our shopping habits can and do influence what is produced.

Thankfully, it is getting easier to buy organic. At our local grocery store, I've seen the organic selection expand from a few shelves to now a few aisles. And as I wrote a few weeks ago, buying organic was not as cost-prohibitive as I feared given I was not purchasing all the processed and packaged foods. Regardless, if good health means I need to spend a few extra dollars, I'll do it, because as they pointed out yesterday, would you rather pay yourself now or pay a doctor down the road? Um, me please!

There were so many interesting statistics and facts presented in this episode that I couldn't even begin to put them all in this post. But if you're interested, rent "Food Inc." or pick up some of Michael's books at the library. Quick reads and so insightful.

Here's a reading list that might be helpful:

By Michael Pollan
"Food Rules: An Eater's Manual"
"In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto"
"The Omnivore's Dilemma"

By Eric Schlosser
"Fast Food Nation"

By Frances Moore Lappe
"Diet for a Small Planet"

By Terry Walters
"Clean Food" (a great cookbook, though no meat recipes)