In defense of “In Defense of Food,” by Michael Pollan

I grew up in (& still live in) an area that has generally lived close to the land. Fly over us in an airplane and we look like a patchwork quilt of cropland. So I pretty much grew up having an idea where some of my food came from.

And after reading Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, I had some knowledge about the benefits of sustainable living and community-supported agriculture.

Now Pollan’s book has given me much more to think about. The idea, for instance, that some food is “food” and some food that looks “normal” has been processed beyond anything our great-grandparents would recognize. Another new concept to me is nutritionism, which according to Wikipedia “is an ideology that assumes that it is the scientifically identified nutrients in foods that determine their value in the diet.” Seemingly this idea alone has created a western food culture that has made us not healthier, but fatter. And reading that our diet has shifted from leaf-based to largely nut-based was a radical idea to me. We have basically excluded one set of vital nutrient sources in favor of another, perhaps less beneficial, one, to our apparent detriment.

I would recommend perhaps reading this book instead of listening. Like many informational books, there are a lot of facts to be gleaned, and reading would allow you to take them at your own pace. In addition, there was something about the reader’s voice—the pitch, the inflection, something—that was a bit grating at times.

Will In Defense of Food cause me to completely change my diet? That remains to be seen. I agree with many of the principles Pollan puts forth; a few of them are already near to my heart. But I have ordered this book for my husband, in the hope that maybe we can make a concerted effort to change the way our family eats. Letting go of decades of eating habits won’t be easy, but ya gotta start somewhere … 

Hope may well be in our own hands

            In this day of strained celebrity gossip and trivial reality TV triumphs, it is refreshing to hear about those people who give without regards for the attention they may receive.  Such is the heart of former U.S. President Bill Clinton’s book Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World. 

            While interwoven with his own experience with Not-for-Profits, what Clinton refers to as NGOs, the former president gives a detailed overview of who’s who in the world of giving.  Each chapter gives a different slant on the giving model and explores different ways the reader can also begin to give more generously themselves.  Clinton’s recommendations range from giving time to money, from micro-credit programs to being a big brother/big sister. 

            The breadth of Clinton’s charitable work is on full display as the writer gives case after case of his work since leaving the Oval Office.  This does not mean Clinton is writing solely about his own exploits, but rather weaves is own experiences in an almost secondhand way.  By telling of his friends and partners in the Clinton Foundation, the author shows the intricate web of people needed to run a modern NGO, and briefly shows the hurdles that face many non-profits.

            The book, though sometimes listy, read very fluidly and without any of the catches that often keep people from finishing non-fiction books.  Each idea led easily to the next and kept the pace of the book from being broken.  This is important when dealing with a subject of such grave importance as charitable giving.

            However, the true gem of this book lies in the individual lives the readers are allowed to briefly glimpse.  Clinton praises the spirit of humanity that shines bright in a doctor who has given his life to fighting treatable illnesses in Haiti or that of a young rape victim, infected with AIDS, who donates her time and energies back to the clinic that had provided medicines to her for a drastically reduced price thanks to a global non-profit collaboration.  The volunteers and victims giving each other reason and hope lends the reader a bit of the positive energy men like Bill Clinton are privy to each day.

            In the end, the book’s title proved to be apt.  Not only does the book present a broad view of the way millions give of themselves each day, it gave this reader hope that we can come together and make the world a little better through giving.

10 Items or Less (2006)

(My apologies if I have posted this movie in the past. I meant to do it, but could not find it anywhere!)

Oh, I really liked this movie! Morgan Freeman has yet to disappoint me – ever, and Paz Vega proves again she is more than a “delight to the eyes”. The pace is slow, unlike what we are accustomed to in this “entertain me every minute” world we live in. The plot is simple, yet unexpected and amusing. It grabbed my attention, not by special effects, mysterious plot, or by any other extraordinary means, but with very ordinary everyday people, setting, and events. I wanted to watch what happened, much the way I like to “people watch”. And although nothing remarkable appeared to happen in this entire movie – so much did! It’s a film about chance meeting – and not what you’re thinking at all. It’s about the dichotomies of life and what is and isn’t important. The more I thought about this movie, the more significant its underlying messages became. Note: Several of my friends watched this movie with very mixed reviews.

“The Waitress”

This is one of the most enjoyable movies I’ve watched in a long time. It’s gentle, and it’s real. In some ways it’s a lot like “Like Water for Chocolate.” Our heroine, Jenna (Keri Russell), is a pie-making genius and her daydreams take the form of visualizing creating delicious-looking pies based on her current situation. She’s also a small-town waitress in a bad marriage, unhappily pregnant, and having an affair with her gyneocologist. Andy Griffith gives a memorable performance as an old curmudgeon with a gift for insight, and an unexpected friend to Jenna. This is a movie I could watch again and again.