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- Story Listed as: True Life For Adults
- Theme: Drama / Human Interest
- Subject: Culture / Heritage / Lifestyles
- Published: 12/29/2014
FOOD
Food. It used to be so easy. Growing up in Chicago in the fifties, a middle class kid, all you had to do was open the refrigerator. Cholesterol hadn't been invented. Nor had gross obesity, for that matter. Dagwood sandwiches— ham and cheese and pickles-and tomatoes—roast beef and sauerkraut—a dab of mustard— piled into layers of white bread— or any other combination that offered itself to your food fantasy— everything was permitted in those lovely days of culinary anarchy and nutritional ignorance.
And now?? Paleo is the way to go, argues my son. A Paleolithic diet. And his arguments, fortified by the latest Jared Diamond book, are convincing. Since the agricultural revolution, mankind, whose biological system had evolved eating meat, fish, wild greens, occasional small wizened fruit, has grown shorter, more vulnerable to all manner of disease, and possibly duller intellectually. Where is OUR fire? And, were it not for the occasional spear thrown or bear hug, those cave people would also have longevity on their side. Did we degenerate because of french bread, fried rice, bagels, spaghetti carbonara? All those delicious carbs? Seems so.
Not so, counters my sister, the vegan. But even IF so, not to be countenanced in a world where animal agriculture tops, by immense proportion, any other source of environmental contamination. Yes, we children of the sixties had read, and been convinced. by Diet for a Small Planet, arguing that so and so many acres of land, so and so much water were required to feed corn to the cow that was to feed our hamburger, that it made infinitely more sense to simply plant corn to feed ourselves and skip the cow. But since the sixties, our appetite for meat, and the financial resources to pay for it, have grown exponentially in the Western world. And now, in China. To the extent that the methane and CO2 produced by animal agriculture— far outweigh all the dangerous emissions by planes, cars, homes, and factories PUT TOGETHER. My sister took me to a film called COWSPIRACY, and I became, however unwillingly, a convert. And then....the oceans, about to be, or already are, out-fished. The terrible conditions under which animals are raised— and razed--chicken torture, pig dungeons...we have seen the pictures. UGH. Yes! But....roasted lamb smells...and tastes....so wonderful....and we only live once....and....O hell!
The debate goes on. And both sides claim to have health on their side. Resolute converts feel so much better since they stopped/started eating/not eating meat, dairy, eggs. That they no longer catch colds, feel more energetic, etc. What to believe? Is it mind over matter? Pass the placebo please!
Enter my daughter. For some months now, she and her family have started a mealworm farm. Mealworms? For feeding fish, birds, and the like? No! Mealworms for human consumption! Consider: a fantastic protein source that is easy to procure and maintain, doesn't even stink, is inexpensive, and....well, yes, there is a major ICK factor here. And has to be overcome. But however gagworthy the idea, the crackers she makes (I tried them) DO taste crunchy and rather like sesame seeds. So far, she has not ventured a vermicelli vermicelli.
Am I serious? I hardly know myself. And feel frankly flummoxed these days in the supermarket. But while I yearn for the innocence of our collective food ignorance, I sense a sea of change coming in the not so distant future. The waves are lapping at my door. But is the issue at hand really so different from considering a trip to Thailand, which I can afford, but means a big CO2 “foot” print in a jet, or driving a car when I could bike, or using an air conditioner when I could as easily open a window? Is it not once again a question of my own convenience and, I admit, pleasure, versus the collective good— and, damn it, survival—of human and animal life? Is it not time to be thinking as seriously of alternative protein sources as we do of other energy sources— wind, sun, earth, water?
Snails? (given enough garlic and wine) Ants? Grasshoppers? I see my two grandsons, aged two and four... They love watching the larvae turn into worms, and eating mealworm crackers. The ICK factor seems to be a grown-up problem. How we grow up. And we grew up—-evolutionarily--as carnivores. Even my vegan sister admits that hot dogs frying smell good to her. So, we need to re-wire ourselves. Maybe not overnight. And asking people to give up meat is so daunting that even, apparently, Greenpeace— won't touch the issue of animal agriculture. Too afraid of losing their contributions. In fact, there is hardly an environmental organization out there that will touch this--literally-- all consuming problem.
So, it's salad days ahead. And bike rides. And—uh--mealworms for meals. More than ever, we need—-contrary to all instincts and desires—a Brave New World.
Dorrie Iten-Gilden, Zürich,
December
FOOD(iten, dorrie)
FOOD
Food. It used to be so easy. Growing up in Chicago in the fifties, a middle class kid, all you had to do was open the refrigerator. Cholesterol hadn't been invented. Nor had gross obesity, for that matter. Dagwood sandwiches— ham and cheese and pickles-and tomatoes—roast beef and sauerkraut—a dab of mustard— piled into layers of white bread— or any other combination that offered itself to your food fantasy— everything was permitted in those lovely days of culinary anarchy and nutritional ignorance.
And now?? Paleo is the way to go, argues my son. A Paleolithic diet. And his arguments, fortified by the latest Jared Diamond book, are convincing. Since the agricultural revolution, mankind, whose biological system had evolved eating meat, fish, wild greens, occasional small wizened fruit, has grown shorter, more vulnerable to all manner of disease, and possibly duller intellectually. Where is OUR fire? And, were it not for the occasional spear thrown or bear hug, those cave people would also have longevity on their side. Did we degenerate because of french bread, fried rice, bagels, spaghetti carbonara? All those delicious carbs? Seems so.
Not so, counters my sister, the vegan. But even IF so, not to be countenanced in a world where animal agriculture tops, by immense proportion, any other source of environmental contamination. Yes, we children of the sixties had read, and been convinced. by Diet for a Small Planet, arguing that so and so many acres of land, so and so much water were required to feed corn to the cow that was to feed our hamburger, that it made infinitely more sense to simply plant corn to feed ourselves and skip the cow. But since the sixties, our appetite for meat, and the financial resources to pay for it, have grown exponentially in the Western world. And now, in China. To the extent that the methane and CO2 produced by animal agriculture— far outweigh all the dangerous emissions by planes, cars, homes, and factories PUT TOGETHER. My sister took me to a film called COWSPIRACY, and I became, however unwillingly, a convert. And then....the oceans, about to be, or already are, out-fished. The terrible conditions under which animals are raised— and razed--chicken torture, pig dungeons...we have seen the pictures. UGH. Yes! But....roasted lamb smells...and tastes....so wonderful....and we only live once....and....O hell!
The debate goes on. And both sides claim to have health on their side. Resolute converts feel so much better since they stopped/started eating/not eating meat, dairy, eggs. That they no longer catch colds, feel more energetic, etc. What to believe? Is it mind over matter? Pass the placebo please!
Enter my daughter. For some months now, she and her family have started a mealworm farm. Mealworms? For feeding fish, birds, and the like? No! Mealworms for human consumption! Consider: a fantastic protein source that is easy to procure and maintain, doesn't even stink, is inexpensive, and....well, yes, there is a major ICK factor here. And has to be overcome. But however gagworthy the idea, the crackers she makes (I tried them) DO taste crunchy and rather like sesame seeds. So far, she has not ventured a vermicelli vermicelli.
Am I serious? I hardly know myself. And feel frankly flummoxed these days in the supermarket. But while I yearn for the innocence of our collective food ignorance, I sense a sea of change coming in the not so distant future. The waves are lapping at my door. But is the issue at hand really so different from considering a trip to Thailand, which I can afford, but means a big CO2 “foot” print in a jet, or driving a car when I could bike, or using an air conditioner when I could as easily open a window? Is it not once again a question of my own convenience and, I admit, pleasure, versus the collective good— and, damn it, survival—of human and animal life? Is it not time to be thinking as seriously of alternative protein sources as we do of other energy sources— wind, sun, earth, water?
Snails? (given enough garlic and wine) Ants? Grasshoppers? I see my two grandsons, aged two and four... They love watching the larvae turn into worms, and eating mealworm crackers. The ICK factor seems to be a grown-up problem. How we grow up. And we grew up—-evolutionarily--as carnivores. Even my vegan sister admits that hot dogs frying smell good to her. So, we need to re-wire ourselves. Maybe not overnight. And asking people to give up meat is so daunting that even, apparently, Greenpeace— won't touch the issue of animal agriculture. Too afraid of losing their contributions. In fact, there is hardly an environmental organization out there that will touch this--literally-- all consuming problem.
So, it's salad days ahead. And bike rides. And—uh--mealworms for meals. More than ever, we need—-contrary to all instincts and desires—a Brave New World.
Dorrie Iten-Gilden, Zürich,
December
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