On Fiction

In a previous post, I noted that I need to read more fiction. I think I might need to qualify that statement. I need to read more heartwarming, cheerful, inspirational, funny fiction. I just finished A Thousand Splendid Suns (Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner). It was amazing, but intense and mostly intensely sad. He's such a good writer that you really get wrapped up in it and I think my mood is affected by it. So I'm looking forward to something a little lighter next.

Energy Policy

I find that many pundits separate energy policy and food policy, but end up categorizing them as two major concerns of our era. Are they really so different? They're even similar linguistically. When was the last time you talked about being hungry in terms of having an "empty tank" or needing more "fuel"? Are these not terms more often associated with cars?

It seems to me that we should think of these things as two parts of one whole. We need food to give our bodies energy and fuel. We need energy to produce this food--energy produced from fossil fuel, wind power, solar power, natural gas, nuclear power, and, of course, other food.

Petroleum products not only help to generate much of the food that we eat, but they actually make their way into our food. And if you think of it again, you realize that food (corn, sugar, seaweed, etc.) are being made into fuel. At that point, it all seems to come much closer together doesn't it?

Food is just the edible form of energy... not that you didn't already know that.

Speaking of things you already know: Read Michael Pollan's new book In Defense of Food. It tells you a bunch of stuff you already know, but actually might convince you to take action (like quitting high fructose corn syrup and other processed foods).

Motives

Maybe it's just me, but I don't think so. There has been a recent dramatic shift in the way people think about food in this country. While, that's probably the case, there are definitely several different motives for these shifts and they all seem to relate to the amount of information available. Here are some that come to mind:

1. Environmental Impact of the process and delivery
2. Health/Nutritional value of the food
3. Food safety (E-Coli, mad cow, lead, pesticides, etc.)
4. Community support (in the form of local farms, co-ops, markets, etc.)
5. Variety of food (exotic, variety for nutrition)
6. Monetary cost (to consumer)
7. Support of economies in need (not always local)
8. National security (having an adequate supply of food lest the entire world embargo us)

Sometimes these values can be mutually exclusive (e.g. 4 and 7) but they don't always have to be. I just finished reading Movable Feasts by Sarah Murray. It is an interesting tale of several food items and how they are moved from their place of origin to our dinner plates.

It's clearly a book written by a talented travel writer. But she also takes the position that long-distance travel is a good thing for us and for the world -- mainly focusing on the variety and supporting economies in need arguments. However she attempts an environmental argument as well. Part of it is completely valid in my mind and we should all consider it as we have more information about where our food comes from and we're making decisions about which of that is aligned with our values. That argument is that it is sometimes more energy efficient to import food from elsewhere than it is to grow it closer to home (with heated greenhouses, for example).

Her other argument for the environmental benefit of shipping food long distance is that driving to the farmer's market uses more energy than shipping the food in a container ship (per capita). However, she leaves out that driving to the grocery store where you buy the container-ship-provided goods uses the same amount of energy (presumably) as the grocery store. So it falls short of convincing.

Where Michael Pollan's book Omnivore's Dilemma helped me to see that it's not just organic (which has its problems) that's good, but also local, Murray's book helped me see that it's not just local either.

Making decisions about the food we eat is extremely complex if we're trying to account for the different values laid out at the beginning of this post. However, the industry is learning that we want more transparency about sources and things are getting better. If you're concerned about the food you eat, maybe you will consider asking your grocer and/or favorite brands more about the sources of the food.

Jealous Again

In November, my friend Laura took on the challenge of writing a post per day for 30 days. She thinks that the things she wrote were boring or dull at times, but I thought the whole thing was great. I loved having something to read from her each day. I started this blog because I was jealous of all the interesting things she had to say about life and the culture she was experiencing in Japan. Well, now she is in Indiana, so I have no excuse.

I can't say I'll be as engaging, but arbitrarily starting today (which is technically December 5th), I will start the same endeavor. So until January 4th, I'll find 10 or more minutes each day to give an update to life and/or thoughts.

Book Update: On my way to Thanksgiving in Indiana, I bought Malcolm Gladwell's other book, The Tipping Point, which I basically finished by the time I returned, and now I'm on to J.D. Salinger... Nine Short Stories. And with the way the trains are getting stuck these days, I'll be done in a day or two. Thank goodness I remembered that I really enjoy reading.

Save a Horse -- Ride a Cowboy

Life is good, isn't it?

Somehow, after all the music I've heard this weekend, that's the song that sticks with me. I'm currently reading Blink and after I ripped through the first two thirds in about 3 days, I was afraid that it would be toast by my first layover on the way to New Mexico, but I was mistaken. Instead, I was found in my seat, mouth open, and fast asleep.

This weekend was a whirlwind of activity since I was work/playing at an industry conference. Yeah, I pulled several 12+ hour days, but they almost invariably involved a water slide, and last I checked you're not allowed to complain about that. So I didn't.

Back to life. Back to reality for me.

Productivity

Because I'm obsessed with the title of this post, I've decided my next book (to read) should be something pedagogical. So I'm reading The Omnivore's Dilemma to learn more about food in the U.S. (or as the author refers to it: America). I've been interested for a long time in where it comes from, what is better for me, what is better for the environment, organic or local -- does it matter?, and other related things so this should be a good start.

However, it's not quite as motivating for reading as good fiction, so I've decided that I get to read something fun next.

My New Best Friend

I'm not sure what was wrong with me for so long, but I just discovered that books are my new best friend. Or maybe a long lost old friend. Either way it feels new and I love it.

Currently reading: The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver