Last Sunday’s NYTimes magazine was dedicated to examining issues around the international rising cost of (cheap) food and it’s consequences: obesity at home, and malnutrition abroad. There are a series of interesting articles about the broad topic,  everything from a letter from Michael Pollan to “Mr.President-Elect” about food policy,an article about the complexities, politics and implications of  “Vietnamese catfish”,  and a piece by Mark Bittman, who ruminates on a question I have been thinking a lot about recently: “Why Take Food Seriously?”. My favorite article so far is the interactive piece called Inside the Fridge of a Foodie, where “five food leaders talk about the eating habits that fuel their professional pursuits.” There’s also a related piece, Food Fighters, that showcases seven young food justice advocates.

In all, the articles are extremely timely and approach the issue of food justice from some unique perspectives. Definitely worth checking out.

ready, set, butter

Berkshire Mountain Bakery

Ever since I went out to our CSA’s tomato and corn festival at the end of August, I have been meaning to write an extensive post about my new-found love of bread. I mean, I have never been a serious bread eater. Yes, I appreciate a good, crusty loaf of the stuff, dipped in olive oil or slathered in butter, but let’s put it this way: it’s never been on the “top-3-foods-I could-consume-forever-and-ever” list…until that fateful day in at Red Fire Farm. For it was there that I hesitantly shelled out $5.50 for what turned out to be the most wonderful bread I have ever had the pleasure of putting into my mouth.

women & film

“Meryl Streep is always specific and precise in her interpretations,” Anthony Minghella told me. “And I find that those sorts of women are now virtually nonexistent in studio films. Even talented actresses are given nothing to play, and they don’t all have Meryl Streep’s inventiveness when the material is lacking.” Minghella says he worries about the prospects for an actress with the ambitions of Farmiga. “Increasingly, audiences are uncomfortable with any subject that is not aspirational,” he said, “and the studios acquiesce rather than provide an alternative that might inspire a new audience. It’s too easy and potentially dangerous a label to hang on her, but Vera is of the quality of Meryl Streep. Her characters have the same sense of depth and commitment. The question is, Is it even possible to have a career like Meryl Streep’s now?”

A Film of One’s Own–The New York Times, September 3, 2006

11:11 pm, Friday, July 18

Reading:

• eatmakeread.com: one Brooklyn woman’s food/craft blog
• The Way We Eat: Out of the Kitchen, Into the Field: a NYTimes article about women farmers
• the kitchn
• a NYTimes recipe for double garlic soup. Looks tasty and easy, AND I can finally get rid of all those garlic scapes we have
• Spooning Mag: a food blog/e-magazine based in Brooklyn

Listening:

Good Food podcast, done by LA’s KCRW radios station. Each episode is a mix of random and interesting stores dealing with global food, culture, and “the politics of consumption”. The most recent episode is about an American woman who moved to Mallorca, Spain and opened a 24-hour American-style diner, cavity-fighting chocolate, ice cream, and most interestingly (and personally relevant), the diets of indigenous people around the world, and why they are some of the best ways of avoiding diseases like diabetes and depression.