Repentance of a Food Skeptic

I urge you to watch the video above. It’s 18:27 long, but it is really over at about 18 minutes. When I was in college about 20 years ago, I began to hear about “organic food.” As a chemist, the term, then and now both, bugs me for dozens of reasons. My initial reaction beyond that was intense skepticism of something promoted by wild-eyed hippie types who were just being disestablishmentarian. That view has only slowly eroded over 20 years, but it is largely (not completely, though) washed away.

This erosion has been due to more and more folks learning more and more about how the food industry works and the unintended consequences of otherwise logical decisions, based on good, but incompletely tested scientific research. It has also been based on personal experience.

Back to Basics

I suspect most people’s minds have certain themes that run through their heads. There are certain topics their brains like to meditate on, and regardless of how broad their thoughts go, there are a few ruts. One of my mind’s ruts is most generally and easily described as city mouse/country mouse, though it hardly does the topic credit, as it ranges over many areas (technology, politics, worldview, etc.). If you are a consistent reader, you will recognize this theme in many of its faces.

Today’s installment of meditations on this theme deals with the fundamental necessities of life—air, water and food.

Culinary Apologetic

Most of us enjoy food. But did you ever stop and think how unique our food selections are? Most animals live on a rather limited palate. In fact, some animals require extremely specific food sources. If that one source disappears, the entire population starves. But not us. Not only can we eat a wide variety of foods, but we are able to combine and manipulate food items to create amazing and tasty concoctions. This is remarkable when you think about it.