If you've read any of the Michael Pollan books in recent years, the information Mark Bittman presents below is nothing new. However, despite my interest in and desire to "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." I will still catch myself inhaling a Junior Bacon Cheeseburger (no tomato, thank you) and fries on a few highly shameful occasions. My cheeks burn even now, just thinking of it. It's not the act of eating the food that I'm uncomfortable with, but it's the pleasure, the comfort, the familiarity that I find in that hot greasy mess of a meal that makes me so squeamish. How did a fast food fry-up become nostalgia fare?
And what about those people for whom the $.99 Value Menu makes the difference between a full belly and an empty one? People who don't have a grocery store within walking distance, people who have to take public transportation for their weekly shopping trips - how can we expect them to choose fresh veg or fruit (both of which are highly delicate and highly perishable) over something frozen, portable, or ready-made?
I don't actually have answers to these questions, and I don't expect the food industry to answer back too quickly either, but it's important for those of us who continue to think about ways in which our bodies and the environment are impacted by the food we eat to recognize that the mere consideration of these things is a luxury. An important one, but a luxury none the less.
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