THE OMNIVORE'S DILEMMA

Today was a slow day at the restaurant, which meant I had ample time to finish reading "The Omnivore's Dilemma." It's a little ironic reading a book about the food industry while working in it, but it was as intentional as author Pollan reading Peter Singer's "Animal Liberation" while dining on steak. Anyway, this book is a must-read for everyone. The food industry's infrastructure, much like New York City's, is crumbling. It's not sustainable; it actually scares me to think of the chemicals we are producing and its wreckage on our environment. Everything is connected!

The most important lesson I learned:

Nutrients DO differ based on diet, season, and environment. A grass fed chicken gives eggs a bright orangish color, indicative of beta-carotene:

"Joel told me that when he first began selling eggs to chefs, he found himself apologizing for their pallid hue in winter; the yolkds would lose their rich orange color when the chickens came in off the pasture in November. Then he met a chef who told him not to worry about it. The chef explained that in cooking school.... he'd been taught that recipes that specifically called for April eggs, August eggs, and December eggs. Some seasons produce better yolks, others better whites, and chefs would adjust..."
--The Ominvore's Dilemma

To ensure we get the best nutrients, we need to take care of our environment and the way we obtain produce/meats, etc. Monocultured farms don't help - by producing only one crop, we have to synthesize much of the nutrients to even maintain the crop, e.g. fertilizer, pesticide. A multicultured farm provides everything needed: chickens for sanitzation and fertilization, cows for grazing the land, trees that provide shade for pigs, which help germinate grass seeds. The trees also attract birds, which takes care of its insects, etc etc etc. It's complex and it's a genuine loop, life cycle, what have you, and it's not something humans can create on any scale by mass producing large quantities of one item. We erode the land, pollute immensely (and cause nearby water supplies to be unsafe for consumption, boo), and we make Al Gore film documentaries about such issues. Ah!

So please, be like Captain Planet and be good to our Earth!!

On another note, the lovely picture at the top of the post is something one of my regular customers gave to me today. He handwrote the lyrics to "Anthem" (although he spelled it "Athem" hee) by Leonard Cohen. Aw. How awesome are my regulars? :)

Off to read "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn." Finally!

currently listening to:
I'm Your Man
Lenoard Cohen

xoxo t