We've all heard the horror stories about GMO frankenfoods but Felicity Lawrence's* "Eat your heart out" taught me I should be equally scared of seemingly more traditionally produce. I thought that I was quite clued up on local food/healthy food etc but apparently no I'm completely ignorant.
I had, for example, no idea that many studies suggest soya milk to mess with your hormones and produce more oestrogen. Nor did I realise that chicken now has so much fat it might not be any less fatty than red meat. I hate butter but nearly died when I read about how margarine is made. This book was terrifying.
It was a fairly obvious, designed to "shock" popular science book which nevertheless was well written and informative. It will certainly make you question food choices not just for health purposes but also for environmental and socioeconomic reasons too; the chapter on the polish immigrant workers was very good and the problems they face as just one of the hidden elements of our now highly processed food diet was eyeopening.
The journalistic style and personal anecdotes made it very easy to read and it will make you think and reconsider your diet. However, for me, it didn't invoke as strong emotions as The Omnivores Dilemma and I don't believe the facts/shock tactics will have as a long-lasting effect on my consciousness as Michael Pollan's personal journey with food. Our relationship with eating, after all, goes far beyond that of the nutrional and environmental consequences of our food choices. I think if we are going to change the way people eat and encourage a more sustainable diet then cultivation of our emotional and inherent connection with our food is also very necessary.
* Felicity Lawrence is a food journalist at the Guardian Newspaper. An excerpt of the first chapter of "Eat your heart out", on cereals, can be found here.
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