all the food that's fit to print The Education Issue - Slow Food

BOOKS
SLOW READS
In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto
By Michael Pollan
Penguin Press
Good Food Tastes Good: An Argument
for Trusting Your Senses and Ignoring the
Nutritionists
by Carol Hart
SpringStreet Books
If you have not yet read
Michael Pollan’s new book,
you’ve probably heard of it.
His koan of an advisory—“Eat
food. Not too much. Mostly
plants.”—has already made
its way to most Slow Food
members’ ears, if not also their
hearts and bellies. Health and
science journalist Hart covers
much of the same ground as
Pollan, and though her book
lacks the visibility of his, it shares the same overall
thesis. Both books argue for the simple, delicious,
and health-giving properties of real, slow food, and
against the reductionist vision of “nutritionism,” which
breaks foods down into their component parts. Pollan
very clearly explicates the process: foods are highly
processed, stripped of their natural nutrients along the
way, then fortified afterwards to bring the lost nutrients
back. However, the problem with thinking of nutrients
as individual silver bullets is that it does not take into
account the holistic interplay that is at work in a whole
food. Both authors chart the history of how we got into
this way of thinking and then try to help dig us out.
Pollan’s book is a manifesto and therefore gives
the reader general guidelines that can light the way:
“Avoid Food Products that Make Health Claims” (a
yam is silent because it has no wrapper on which
to advertise its health benefits). Hart’s book is more
nuts and bolts, with concrete advice such as how to
choose the healthiest piece of fruit in the pile (a few
blemishes are a good sign, as is moderate size). Both
books debunk various nutrition myths—although
Hart goes more in depth with this, addressing many
different specific health fads and claims—giving us
the science, reasoning, and history to support what
we already know: too much of any one thing is never
a good idea, farm-fresh food is good and good for you,
and eating food you’ve cooked yourself is the best way
to eat healthily (only try not to eat so much, you hear?).
—Jerusha Klemperer
Sharing the Harvest: A Citizen’s Guide to
Community Supported Agriculture
By Elizabeth Henderson and Robyn Van En
Chelsea Green
Increasingly Americans are
waking up to the fact that
we have become a nation
out of touch with the land
that provides our food—and
consequently the farmers
who grow it. But what do
we do about it? Apart from
growing your own vegetables,
participating in community
supported agriculture (CSA)
is one of the most effective
ways of sharing in both the risks and rewards of farming.
In Sharing the Harvest, Elizabeth Henderson takes up
the reins from the late Robyn Van En, a key figure in
forming the CSA movement in North America in the
mid-1980s. Henderson’s book honestly sums up the truth
about starting and maintaining a CSA. Since each CSA is
unique and has distinct operational demands, Henderson
provides detailed anecdotes compiled from dozens of CSAs
around the country describing the pitfalls and challenges
of running a CSA, along with techniques and wisdom for
overcoming difficulties.
Sometimes it’s the simplest wisdom that makes the
biggest difference. For example, communication between
the farmer and CSA members is important, whether by way
of newsletters or increasing signage amongst the lettuces.
She explains share pricing and bookkeeping technologies,
gives examples of harvesting and distribution methods,
and even ventures into nitty-gritty details on hard-truth
issues like divorce in farming families and how it affects
a CSA.
Henderson believes in the power of a community
uniting to grow food, and she easily imparts that spirit to
the reader. If you’ve never heard of CSA, her enthusiasm
will make you a believer; if you’re looking to start one in
your community or if you’re a farmer needing guidance
on managing a CSA, this book is an indispensable
resource. —Elizabeth Bird 19
The snail | spring 2008