Shop at Farmers' Markets and Leave Junk Food Behind

Today I am going to quote a few sentences from a great New York Times article, "Is Junk Food Really Cheaper?" by Mark Bittman.

On first glance I missed the final points of the story, which I think are the most relevant for people like you and me who are attempting to change the culture of food for our children and grandchildren. If you are already shopping at a farmers' market, then you have made a commitment to spend more time in the kitchen and maybe even more money if you can afford to shop at a market for everything you eat.

But statistics depict a nation of individuals grown fat, and happy to be so, while heading toward their own health crises sometimes before they reach adulthood. And as Mr. Bittman explains, even the excuse that fast food is cheaper is not in fact valid.  

Mr. Bittman does some substitution analysis and demonstrates that even lower-income families can eat more nutritious and less-fattening meals by cooking their own food. But he also believes that we all can do more to make better options more accessible for those folks and also make it easier for us activists to hold accountable the corporate and political interests that have essentially created a nation of simulated-food addicts.   

I have been working with Del. Kaye Kory to learn what Virginians running for office this year see as the state's role in improving our diet, and this article came just as I was writing questions for a questionnaire. It gave me a few new ideas. I will share the final product with you when I finish it, but the next step will be to encourage our politicians to respond.

The United Nations has just this week stepped up (or waded in) by proclaiming our individual diets as a major factor in our declining, not improving, global health. This is a worldwide issue, but more common and more debilitating in advanced cultures and economies -- and guess who leads the way?  

We can shop every week at the market and we can cook every meal at home, and that would put us back in the majority of those all over the world who eat naturally. You can prod our schools to serve more healthful lunches instead of empty calories or go see the movies that will make you a little bit sick to your stomach. But if conditions are going to change, we need to reach the change-makers with our concerns. As with everything -- as with the battle against the tobacco companies or the anti-litter campaign of many years ago -- we have to start somewhere. So why not here and now?  

The following are some interesting points from the essay -- read them and weep but do not despair.

Furthermore, the engineering behind hyperprocessed food makes it virtually addictive. A 2009 study by the Scripps Research Institute indicates that overconsumption of fast food "triggers addiction-like neuroaddictive responses" in the brain, making it harder to trigger the release of dopamine. In other words the more fast food we eat, the more we need to give us pleasure; thus the report suggests that the same mechanisms underlie drug addiction and obesity.

In speaking about the cultural change that needs to take place, Bittman says, "The smart campaign is not to get McDonald's to serve better food but to get people to see cooking as a joy rather than a burden, or at least a part of a normal life."  

At the end of the article, he comes full circle and talks about individual cultural change and also the political action that includes "agitating to limit the marketing of junk, forcing its makers to pay the true costs of production, recognizing that advertising for fast food is not the exercise of free speech but behavior manipulation of addictive substances, and making certain that real food is affordable and available to everyone."  

He concludes by referring to a book by David Kessler, The End of Overeating, in which Kessler argues that the food industry has created "a food carnival" in which we crave the self-stimulation that fast food provides. Admitting that political action will not be easy, Bittman reminds us that "what's easier is to cook at every opportunity, to demonstrate to family and neighbors that the real way is the better way. And even the more fun way: kind of like a carnival." 

Maybe we need to start calling ourselves the Smart Markets Carnival with Annie, our demo chef, as our barker.  

See you at the market!

Jean

This Week at Our Reston Market 
Wednesday 3:30–7pm 
11890 Sunrise Valley Dr. Map

We are looking forward to having Miguel back this week. He expects to come, but if the farm is still in "recovery," Jose Montoya will bring more of his own Northern Neck produce for you. Lettuce is back and the greens are coming too -- kale, mustard greens and collards -- and don't forget the beet greens when you can get them. Heritage Farm is also bringing bags of mixed baby greens -- great for a quick saute or adding to a pasta dish or a soup.

With this weather, it is hard not to start thinking about slow-cooked beef cuts, and of course we have recipes to lead the way at the Smart Markets table. Look for rump, round and sirloin roasts, and short ribs, which are the tastiest cut of all.

Don't forget to ask Betty about the tamales and enchiladas. Mehdi, the charmer who sells for Cavanna Pasta, has plenty of pumpkin and porcini ravioli this week, and we have some great recipes for putting them together with those fall veggies. In fact, my favorite fall recipe incorporates apples into a pumpkin ravioli recipe. New apples are arriving each week now, but we will have to wait a little while for the Pink Lady and Stayman varieties.

More details to follow, but the big news is that we will be on site the Wednesday before Thanksgiving for a shorter-than-normal holiday market. We will have everything you need for your holiday feast, and you may order your turkey and pies of your choice now at Heritage Farm and Kitchen.