Food, Inc. Reading List

So early January I finally got around to watching Food, Inc. which speaks to the status of the food industry in American today. I'd been making small changes in my diet and food habits for awhile now, keeping an eye on the news and hearing reports from friends and family, many of whom had seen Food, Inc. previously. So while not all new, the information in Food, Inc. basically changed my life. Basically it left me wanting more, I needed to know more, I needed to be involved in this local, organic movement- away from factory farming and big business. I got on the Food, Inc. Website, took the survey, read some articles, followed "Take Part" on twitter and checked out the reading list.

My favorite boyfriend (okay my only boyfriend, who still happens to be my favorite), Alex, got me a Kindle for Christmas, easily my favorite gadget these days. But really, since I've gotten it, I haven't put it down, so with my newfound love of learning where the food I eat comes from, I added the reading list from Food, Inc. to my Amazon wishlist. I even made a Listmania List, so you can add all the books to your cart in one step. ;) There's 12 books on the list from authors like Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser as well as one from Farmer Joel Salatin. I can only read one book at a time (meaningfully, I mean, I can read more than one book at once, but I typically get sucked in and confused if I am following too many stories- like reading the Sookie Stackhouse series and watching True Blood in season... I don't recommend it). Either way, I'm on book 3 on my Food, Inc. reading list.

First up was "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan. I choose this first because it was showing up on everyone's Kindle library more often than any other book on the list and has an astonishing number of reviews on Amazon (668), resulting in a 4.5 star rating. It was a great read chronicling the authors journey through the industrial food world, the organic, the industrial organic and the pastoral. The information in it was fascinating and created great arguments for and against different ways of producing and eating food. I particularly enjoyed his thoughts on vegetarianism and veganism and have personally come to the conclusion that neither is sustainable nor natural. Not to say that the inhumane slaughter of animals is, it clearly isn't, I just think there are ways to maintain a well rounded diet locally and organically. Pollan's week at Polyface Farm with Joel Salatin shows me that it is possible. (Joel and his farm are also featured in Food, Inc.) I really wish there were more farms like his around here.

Next up was "Chew on This" by Eric Schlosser & Charles Wilson. It breaks down the dangers of the fast food industry in a way that appeals to adolescents, the ones who are effected most by big business advertising and who are feeling the weight of its propaganda (literally). It's detailed about how the fast food industry came to power and stayed in power, what decisions were made that lead America to its current massive state of obesity. It speaks to what's in the food we eat, why this food is not good for us but tastes sooo good: "natural and artificial flavor." I've always wondered what these "natural flavors" were on a food label. Turns out it's a way of hiding a long list of additives (derived naturally, from nature, or synthetically, in a lab) that make our food taste and smell better. And most of the companies who manufacture these additives are right here in New Jersey, which explains why my exit on the Turnpike always smells like cake or popcorn (seriously, IFF is headquartered on my exit). I guess the most eye opening things in this book are the descriptions of working conditions in the fast food industry and in the slaughterhouse industry, which is largely producing for the fast food industry. After a glimpse of this in Food, Inc. I can safely and happily say I no longer consume fast food. Not that I did much before: I've been counting calories for awhile (not really watching my weight, but paying attention to what I consume and if the food I'm eating is worth it- a Dunkin Donuts vanilla bean coolatta is nearly 1,000 calories!) It's just completely unnecessary.

"Chew on This" was fairly graphic for a teen book, so I'm on a little break right now, reading "The Unadulterated Cat" by Terry Pratchett. I plan on (again, finally) watching Supersize Me soon and then following up with more reading from the reading list. I'm thinking I might need to keep going with the fast food kick and read "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser next.