yarnalong...

Bread Wine Chocolate: the slow loss of foods we love by Simran Sethi

A treatise on the loss of biodiversity in our food and the inspiring people and places around the world that are attempting to bring back the foods we love.  According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations...95% of the world's calories come from a mere 30 species.  Of 30,000 edible plants...we cultivate about 150.  Three-fourths of the world's food comes from just 12 plants and five animal species.  We overeat energy-dense foods while eating fewer foods rich in micronutrients, increasing our chances of becoming "stuffed and starved".  All this in the name of progress and modernization.  The industrialization of food production and food distribution---concentrating on those food that can be grown abundantly and can sustain long journeys to market and retain a long shelf life once there--have resulted in lower quality, nutrient-poor monocultures of fast food, and processed foods full of salt, sweeteners and fats.

An example she gives:  McDonald's fries, medium serving, contains 19 grams of fat, 270 milligrams of salt and 19 ingredients.  A "real" potato contains less than one gram of fat, 13 milligrams of salt and one ingredient.  Our industrialized food system is designed for efficiency and yield and profit..not nutrition, taste, or diversity.

A fascinating book so far.

 

Sea turtle....assembly required.

Comments

[karen]

love the turtle, I saw that pattern this week on rav! I get the facts on fast food but for some reason all that fat and salt can taste good in a bizarre way....so sad really!! I rarely eat out anymore because my cooking is better.

[Caffeine Girl]

The turtle is adorable, but doesn't look easy. For one thing, there is fair isle knit flat! And I am terrible at seaming. But I bet you are going to pull it off beautifully.

The book sounds both fascinating and depressing. We get a lot of confusing advice about how to eat, but the french fry is a perfect example of why we should avoid processed food!

[[email protected]]

it's funny you said that...because that's a point that she makes in the book....the salt and fat and sweeteners are all addictive in their own way, which just keeps us craving all the wrong, unhealthy things. I'm not far in the book, but she comes down pretty hard on fast food (duh!)...the way the Golden Arches are the same whether you are in the US or Thailand or India.  Homogenization of food and losing local cuisine.  She's all about taste...and love of food.  (My hubby hates to go out to eat, too....he says he gets a better meal at home.  It may not be I'm such a better cook, but that so much is 'homogenized' and processed in restaurants these days!!!!!)

[AsKatKnits]

The book sounds fascinating! I have a square that could use that book! I will have to see if the library has it! Thank you for the recommendation :)

[Jody]

There is a HUGE birthday coming...and I love that little sea turtle...hint,hint,nudge,nudge. ; )

[Alina]

What a fascinating book! Sugar/salt/fat/artificial flavors are like addictive drugs. After awhile people lose the ability to taste the "real" food, because their receptors get used to much stronger than the natural ones artificial flavors...

[Caroline]

That book sounds great - thanks for the review. Also - the turtle? ADORABLE!

[Debbie]

That sounds like an interesting book & one worth reading. I like the turtle too!

[Donna]

Sounds like a very interesting book. I love the sea turtle!

[Laura G.]

Adding that book to my TBR list! Probably a good choice in the summer when there are so many farm markets and backyard gardens. Winter can be tough when it comes to unhealthy food!

Also, that turtle is adorable.

[Kim]

The turtle! Oh my he is adorable. For a small person in your life or you? I can send my address if he is looking for a home! ;) ;)
That book sounds fascinating--as well as all too true. Seventeen ingredients in a french fry? Ridiculous. But it is all about convenience and the bottom dollar. Since Easter, have radically changed out eating habits-- although I am sure I would do even better if I could afford organic produce--but that is a whole other story. I have cut out most of the empty carbs I was eating and have become much more mindful of what I a putting in my mouth and cooking for my husband and me. The result is that I feel so much better and the weight is slowly coming off. My downfall is if I sneak a bite of some salty chips --then like others have mentioned, I start to crave that saltiness and whatever else garbage is on them-in a bizarre way. I do like eating out--it has always seemed a treat and after working 10 hour days I don't find cooking all that exciting of a prospect. We don't eat out during the week though-we save it for Friday night and Sunday after church. Again, being more mindful of where we go and what we are eating. Now that we aren't feeding 4 children on a small budget, we don't seem to do the fast food thing anymore, or at least very rarely. I will keep my eye out for the book as it seems very interesting, albeit maybe a bit depressing that civilization has sunk this far?
xoxox

[ellen]

"stuffed and starved" what a great and accurate concept when eating empty caloried or over processed food items. I tell myself even if I eat a little bit of kale for dinner and one piece of fruit at lunch, it's better eating it in it's true form than some trussed up take out crap. Just thinking about it is a healthy and helpful reminder. Randomly it makes me want to bake now. ha!

[Jane]

I am putting that book on my list. Thanks for sharing it. The turtle is going to be so cute.

[Tien]

Sounds like an extremely interesting read. When I visited Vietnam, I was amazed by the huge variety of fresh produce, meats & seafood that was available in even the humblest markets. It's still a developing country but the food culture is pretty amazing since the cuisine relies so heavily on fresh unprocessed ingredients. It saddened me to see the encroachment of fast food chains though.
Love the sea turtle!

[Evelyn]

Sounds like an interesting book to read :) Your turtle is very cute

[Annie]

I hate assembly, but then again, that turtle's a real cutie! He might be worth it. What will it be all finished? Stuffed toy, hot pad or dishcloth...

I always know I can look to your blog for a good book recommendation--I'm putting this one on my list, too. I read "Twinkie, Deconstructed" a few years ago and learned so much about where ingredients come from, the processes used to grow/extract/refine/mine them, what certain mystery ingredients really are (lots of things are ordinary but go by multiple names on a label)...really fascinating and at times disturbing.

[Casey]

that turtle will be so cute!!

[Caroline]

I must read that book! 7 weeks ago I made a decision to give up carbs and sugar. My life has changed so much in this short time. I feel so much better and have no cravings, eat when i'm hungry not when the clock says it's meal time and ultimately it shows on the scales and how my clothes fit. I was surprised by now much processed food made it onto my shopping list, but then I was going for the quicker and more convenient option.