A roundup of some of our favorite food related articles.
It’s no secret: here at EcoSalon we’re big on food. Eating it, dreaming about it, cooking it, reading about it, thinking about it, talking about it, and writing about it. We even have two weekly columns devoted to all things culinary. Why? Because no matter who we are or where we live, we all must eat.
Food touches so many aspects of our lives, far beyond just the dinner table. It’s intertwined in culture and politics, economy and tradition. What lettuce we buy at the grocery store can affect a farmer, a town and a watershed on the other side of the country. What country is marked on our bag of coffee can indicate how workers are treated. How much we eat and how much we throw away, says a lot about our consumer culture as a whole, and the lack thereof in other regions.
Given all of that, what we eat, where it comes from and how we eat it is in fact one of the greater defining factors of who we are as a society and how we think about the world and our fellow human beings. But food is also fun, and it’s an ongoing adventure to identify new things to eat and how to cook things, or to simply be reminded of a product that we may have overlooked.
In honor of food, and given that it’s the season for dinner parties and farmers market strolls, here are the top 10 food stories that you may have missed the first time around but are certainly worth a read, be they thought provoking political pieces, or just reminders of why we love food:
1. What Does $20 Billion in Wasted Food Look Like?
Did you know that in Britain alone $20 billion worth of food is wasted per year? That equals out to about a third of Britain’s groceries. But what exactly does $20 billion in food waste look like? The real visual just might get you seriously thinking about what food you keep and what food you throw away.
2. The Sexual Politics of Dinner
I grew up with a mother that made fantastic meals, in fact she is truly a lover of good food. Sometimes cooking is simply a task that needs to be completed, and when it comes down to it, men and women approach that task differently.
3. Living in Sin With Breads from Berlin
Bread. Good old bread. Gluten-free may be the current mantra of many, but this article is a good reminder that, serious food allergies aside, we shouldn’t be afraid of real food. Check out the complete list of fresh-baked, dark-brown breads and why they have a culinary, and nutritional, advantage.
4. What We Don’t Know Can Hurt Us
Most of us are well aware that vegetables are better than fries and whole grains far outweigh their processed counterparts, but how much do we really know about what we eat? Nutrition fads draw attention, but it turns out, that in seducing us with things like “fat free” and “low sodium,” we’re distracted from what’s really good for us, and the choices that we make because of it, could be detrimental.
What’s a better way to explore a new place than by its food? The Green Plate columnist Vanessa Barrington takes us on a tour of 10 street foods, from Banh Mi to Burek, complete with recipes for those of us with minimal travel plans on the summer to do list.
6. Boost Your Brain With the 20 Smartest Foods on Earth
If these 20 foods aren’t on your “Keep on hand at all times” list, they should be. From avocados to oysters to eggs, these are the foods that make for powerful brain boosters and you should be putting on your daily, or weekly, menu.
7. No Excuses, Just Vegetables
A guest post from urban gardening extraordinaire Mike Lieberman, this article is a great reminder as to why we should all be making an effort to be growing more vegetables at home. Lieberman outlines the first important steps to home gardening, and highlights the most important: no excuses. Just do it!
Hold the sprinkles, please. Food dyes may have more side effects than you think. Linked to allergies, cancers and even hyperactivity, you may want to rethink what colorful items you’re putting in the pantry.
9. The Conscious Case Against Veganism
A vegan turned omnivore posits why the sustainable path may not lead to veganism, eliciting plenty of thoughts and comments from the EcoSalon community. The moral? “Conscientious consumption means eating and living ethically, not religiously.”
10. Just Cook: How to Integrate Cooking Into Your Daily Life
With all this talk of food, what’s the most basic way we can have an impact: cook consciously. Cooking keeps us from processed foods, saves us money and gets us to eat healthier. So what’s stopping you? Read this hassle free guide to ensuring that cooking – and cooking well – becomes a part of your everyday routine.
Image: Anna Brones