On Mondays, Michael explores the world of environmentalism and its intersection with queer culture in the column It’s Easy Being Green, despite what Kermit says.

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I am indeed going to focus on cooking instruction in this space in the coming months. However, I just spent a week off the grid and haven’t spent any time in the kitchen lately. So today, instead of a video, I’ll share with you some comments about a book I’m currently reading, Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food.

The book’s first subtitle is “An Eater’s Manifesto” but the second subtitle, cutely hidden on the band holding together the bunch of lettuce on the cover is the title of this post:  Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.  Not surprisingly, this book is right up my alley.  So much so, actually, that I wasn’t even going to buy it, since I figured me reading it would be like the choir buying the sheet music.  But then I reconsidered and figured it could probably teach me something.  It has already, and I’m only halfway through it.

Since I haven’t finished it yet, I can provide a full review of the book.  But what I can do is explain the second subtitle a bit more, since I think it resonates exactly with what I’m trying to do in this space.  There are three parts, and I’ll start with the first:

Eat Food:  Why should this require much explanation?  Well, because “food” is a very specific term here.  He’s referring to actual whole foods here, unprocessed natural food items.  If something you have in your cupboard or pantry has more than 5 ingredients, and each ingredient has more than 5 syllables, then it’s probably not food by Pollan’s definition.  The first section of the book goes into great detail about what is “food” and what isn’t, and how it came to be that most of the grocery store shelves are filled with nutrient-delivery devices (my term) than actual food.  He also explores in the first section why actual food is so much better for one’s health than processed foods.

Not Too Much:  This is a given.  Overeating is a huge problem in our country.  Portion sizes are out of control, and an obvious solution to this is to limit the amount of actual food you eat.  This at times is a challenge for me, as my boyfriend eats like a horse and I often feel tempted to try to keep up.  Lately, I’ve been stopping myself after my first helping, watching on as he goes back for seconds or thirds.  Oh, and he’s rail thin.  Go figure.

Mostly Plants:  I’ve spent some time describing why plant-based foods are better for the environment.  Turns out, they’re often better for us too.   Once I finish the book, I’m sure I’ll have more handy facts and rationale for persuading one to choose foods lower on the food chain.

As I stated above, the sad fact is that most items we find in our local grocery stores are not “food” per se but “food products” that are made from whole foods that are broken down and re-assembled in a variety of combinations.  People are too busy to cook, and often don’t have the skills, knowledge and motivation to make it a priority.  I feel like this is especially true for many queer people, as we often find that the development of “self” and getting our own needs met (socially and emotionally) take precedence.  My job here is to help encourage new priorities while providing some instruction and knowledge.  Wish me luck.

Check back next week for another video where I make something else yummy, or perhaps spend some time describing what tools are needed for any starter kitchen.