CCF's Rules
1. "Enjoy food. Not too much. Then get some exercise."
I don't recall Pollan advocating a sedentary lifestyle.
2. "There's nothing wrong with eating animals. Most of them do it too."
Pollan soundly rejects vegetarianism. But his advice to eat fewer animals and more plants is right on. And animals might eat one another but they certainly don't factory farm.
3. "Don't be afraid to eat anything your mother once served you."
My mother once served me Velveeta. On those grounds alone, I think I'm going to have to reject that rule.
4. "It's not the cupcake's fault."
No, it's the whole system that created the cupcake's fault - especially if we're discussing Hostess cupcakes.
5. "Don't eat out of a dumpster. Even if it's free and vegan."
If you're trying to pick on Michael Pollan, you're off the mark. I don't recall any dumpster diving in The Omnivore's Dilemma. Mushroom hunting, yes. Dumpster diving, no.
6. "One cheeseburger won't make you fat, and one salad won't make you thin."
True. But once you know what the cheeseburger was made of - perhaps hundreds of different animals from several different states with some E. coli and manure thrown in for seasoning - why would you want to eat that?
7. "Don't be a prude: Eat promiscuously."
I disagree there. Just as I wouldn't pick sex partners in bars or off the streets, I also wouldn't pick food if I don't know where it came from or what it might be contaminated with.
8. "Life without veal stock, pork fat, sausage, organ meat, demi-glace, or even stinky cheese is a life not worth living." (Anthony Bourdain)
I disagree about nearly everything in that sentence.
9. "In spite of food fads, fitness programs, and health concerns, we must never lose sight of a beautifully conceived meal." (Julia Child)
Who said Michael Pollan was ever doing that? He is just smart enough to realize that beautifully conceived meals don't start in cornfields or factory farms.
10. "Life is too short for self-hatred and celery sticks." (Marilyn Wann)
I agree about the self hatred. But I rather enjoy celery sticks.
My Rules
1. If it's coming to you via a drive-thru window, turn it down.
2. Food is best when you know the first name of the person who grew it.
3. There's no reason to eat fruit + sugar + fat + time cooking in the kitchen if I can just eat the raw fruit instead. Skip the apple pie, eat the apple. (This rule changes when someone else is doing the cooking. There's nothing on this earth tastier than a hot apple blackberry cobbler with homemade vanilla ice cream.)
4. Don't eat anything if the guilt or stomach ache after the fact outweighs the pleasure in the moment.
5. No soda.
6. No beer is better than bad beer. If I'm going to enjoy a cold, refreshing glass of empty calories, it better be microbrewed, on tap, and amazing.
7. When eating food in China, I'm still not sure if it's better to eat then ask, or ask then eat. (I ate duck's stomach then asked what it was... but I asked about the jellyfish before putting it in my mouth, and then I still had to eat it to be polite.)
8. Always let the cats lick the yogurt bowl.
9. Don't buy anything processed without reading the ingredient label. (Usually this one equates to "Don't buy anything processed" because once I read the label, I tend to put it back on the shelf.) |
