Two hundred years ago, people were just learning about microbes and the importance of keeping fastidiously clean. The invention of antibacterial soap was a great one.

I appreciated the commenter’s point about the Super Supper’s foods being mostly pre-processed, because I had assumed otherwise: not that these were super-high-grade organic/locally grown foods, but that it was at least fresh and minimally-processed. Which made it sound ideal for busy working people!

Hearing that it’s mostly processed would certainly cause me to think twice.

I really disagree with the attitude that preferring minimally-processed foods and occasionally eating stuff I know came from the Giant Can In The Sky makes me a hypocrite: people do the best they can, right? I know whole foods (as in foods my great-grandma the farmgirl would have recognized, not the store) are better for me, but mostly, I just prefer how they taste. So when possible, those are my choices. I’m not going to eat all-Twinkies all the time just because I don’t eat organic arugula for every meal!

That’s why a place like Super Suppers would not be for me. That’s all. No judgment on anyone who likes their food!

I agree with all the CSA supporters. Joining a CSA is one of the best things I’ve done and a lot of the stuff can be eaten raw with minimal prep as well. It’s vegetables – not meat – you don’t get sick if you don’t cook it: greens, carrots, cucumbers, zucchini, etc.

When I am not eating stuff from the CSA-deliveries, I shop at my food co-op where they label what is LOCAL/organic and what isn’t. There was even a situation recently where a party/tappas mix was found to have MSG in it – the shelf was labeled with an index card asking us if we still wanted to bother ordering it since it was laden with MSG.

I also agree that it’s tiring to be vigilant 100% of the time but if you think about it and make some life changes, it’s very easy to eat org/local.

GRUB is also another great book about the food industry – even the healthfood industry.

http://www.eatgrub.org/about.cfm

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1585424595/102-0361124-6117751?v=glance&n=283155&n=507846&s=books&v=glance

Also, medicine has helped out a lot with people living longer. Diseases and conditions that would have otherwise been fatal are now treatable and in some cases, curable.

I’m not saying that I would pick the diet of two hundred years ago over this one, but there are definite things that can be improved over eating much of the processed food that people subsist on today. The choice isn’t just “natural” (whatever the heck that means– loaded word of the decade?) or “processed.”

@janewilk: Thanks for the book suggestion (even though it was directed toward Trent). I also loved Omnivore’s Dilemma and I’ve been looking for things to read that are kind of “the next step.” I know CSAs (though I wasn’t able to join one this summer because I knew I’d be moving) and local markets and stuff, but I’d like to go a little more in depth. I’ll be checking that out at the library:)

Not so, but then again it’s quite possible that you don’t have the food options open to you that I do here. When I do eat out, it’s usually at a raw, vegan restaurant that sources their products directly through farmers, not Sysco. Similarly, when I shop at a grocery store, I shop at one that displays the provenance of the food they sell, pays its employees a fair wage, and gives back to the community through charitable donations. I’m not saying it’s as easy as picking up a Big Mac at the drive-thru, but it’s not really that much harder than what most people are doing now. In the 2 hours of active prep time that it takes you at Super Suppers, for example, I can bulk prepare enough healthy, organic, local food for 24 meals. Everything that I prepare at home tastes great, which is not something that you can say for Super Suppers – and yes, I have actually eaten their food.

At the end of the day it truly is possible to put one’s principles where one’s mouth is (literally in this case) and avoid either religious conversion or hypocrisy. One just has to make it a priority to do so. If that’s not your priority, no big deal, but the “it’s too hard” excuse is just that – an excuse – from my point of view. :)

I’ve decided to read “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and discuss it on here in the future – this turned out more interesting than I expected.

I do think the idea of avoiding lots of processed foods (especially carb-related stuff), but “natural” is usually much more hazardous than is readily acknowledged.

On the issue of waiting for parenthood, I would agree with the early poster that waiting is not always good. Many older couples are finding that it isn’t quite as easy to just turn things on “when they are ready.” Biology has a way of making up its own mind. :)

Brad

I should say that it was once an alternative. Now, it’s how most of America eats, and it shows in our bulging waistline.

Hopefully the paradigm will shift back to one where small farmers and hardened arteries matter. Relying on agribusiness conglomerates is hurting our health and endangering our food supply, as Amy said.

yipyip – Could you share where you got this information from?

Like I mentioned earlier, if you go back just 50 or so years we lived in a much slower paced society where it was common to have the focus around a family meal made from locally grown items. Things have changed and people’s priorities have shifted, that’s all. But with the shift in priorities comes a need for quick fix meals, food that has a long shelf life and mass-produced products.

Again, I’m not saying one method is right or wrong, just that as a whole there are people who don’t have the time, resources or even desire to focus on obtaining local/organic/fresh food thanks to a change in lifestyle.

I’m with you though, I work a full time job yet I still make time to grow my own vegetables, never eat out and prepare fresh meals everyday. I’m not disputing that it can’t be done, just that the mainstream population doesn’t put an emphasis on these values and are content with whipping together a 99 cent box of mac and cheese or hamburger helper. And as always, where there is a need, a business will show up to fulfill this need in order to make money.

We live in the middle of New York City, the eat-out capital of the world. It would be much easier and quicker for me to eat processed foods from a deli every night rather than cooking. To be sure there are farms within 100 miles of us, but we’re not exactly “back to the land” people and cannot grow our own food, with the exception of particularly hardy and low-maintenance plants like tomatoes. I do not believe there is anyone (excepting perhaps Antarctic researchers) who do not live a reasonable distance from where food is produced. Eating seasonally, locally, and organically _does_ reduce one’s choices of available food (one cannot get local citrus in New York, for example) but I have never felt deprived, because the local produce that I can get is of so much higher quality than whatever grapefruits I can get flown in from Chile or Florida or Texas. I’d rather have a few Jersey blueberries (or peaches, or cherries – which are all in season now) than a navel orange which has burnt up its weight in airplane fuel getting to me. Then again, that’s my choice.

As you said, this is a free country and everyone can make their own decisions, but I do not believe as you do that it is impossible to eat locally and organically and still maintain a full-time job.

While some of this can still be done through conventional means we have to realize that not every type of food can be pickeled, salted, smoked or fermented and still retain the properties you’re looking for in a particular type of food.

And times have simply changed. People are busier than ever and not everyone lives close to where food is produced. With dual income families, 60 hour work weeks it is difficult to reasonably expect everyone to be able to keep all fresh food on hand to make a meal all the time. This isn’t like 60 years ago when most families had homemaker who could put something fresh on the table that was grown by themselves or locally everyday.

I agree that the downsides you mentioned are unpleasant byproducts of mass producing food but unfortunately that is the reality of our situation. Land is a limited resource (especially areas that are suitable for growing crops or raising livestock) and Americans as a whole are constantly demanding the lowest price possible. To satisfy our needs that is what has to be done.

Right or wrong, doesn’t matter. Everyone can choose their own beliefs and act on them, and there are many choices available for consumers. That is the great part about this country. But for every person who demands the highest quality there are dozens who simply need a hot meal on the table to provide for their family.