Food Nation

Bhaskara, so even my all American peanut butter and jelly sandwich isn't safe from theory? And I even made it with whole wheat bread.

If you walk into your standard issue chain bookstore and saunter over to the "social science" -- or whatever they call the one and half bookshelves crammed in a nook in the back -- section you will find a plethora of food related volumes. Michael Pollan springs to mind as does Fast Food Nation, but there are plenty more, and that's not even including all the diet books and cookbooks. For a country that barely eats real food America sure is obsessed with the stuff.

I must admit: I am not entirely immune. I take my food choices seriously. I am vegetarian, prefer locally grown produce, care about sustainable farming, dumpster, and so on down the line. On the one hand these are very important issues. On the other it's flirting with yuppie style sublimation of ethics into consumerism. There are lots of cool projects related to food -- community supported agriculture, urban gardens etc. -- but they still leave me with a funny taste in my mouth. I love food. I love cooking and, perhaps more than anything, I love gathering around a meal with friends. But do I really want to be this obsessed with food?

I agree with you Bhaskara that the situation is insane, but I'm not sure what the radical response would be. Perhaps polarbear would deign to join the blog and expand on his biopower comment for the rest of us?