Comments | harriet_m_welsh: What we're eating is never anything more or less than the body of the world.

harriet_m_welsh

What we're eating is never anything more or less than the body of the world.

Jun 29, 2009 20:41

That's a quote from The Omnivore's Dilemma, a book I just finished reading while in the hottest bath I think I have ever taken while drinking the tiniest amount whiskey with a whole bunch of water in the glass ( Read more... )

navel gazing

Comments 6

eqfe June 30 2009, 11:54:24 UTC

I think that you missed one of the essential points of the Omnivore's Delemma, that is, Michael Pollon loves food. He's exploring different approaches to obtaining food, in the context of a man that truly enjoys food preparation, and sharing and enjoying it with friends. The morel gatherer and the hunter both enjoy the pursuit of their food as much as eating it.

I think our goal should be a happier life for ourselves and our loved ones. That's not necessarily going to be a simpler life for all of us. The goal is to enjoy it.

harriet_m_welsh June 30 2009, 13:50:24 UTC

No, I got that. That's just not what I am writing about. I'm writing about our human tendency to complicate everything. Even Pollan makes fun of himself for the pretentiousness of his meal.

eqfe June 30 2009, 15:09:14 UTC

See I guess I'm drawing a distinction between different types of complications. The complications of haute cuisine tend to make its proponents happy. Whereas a strict locavore might make him/herself unhappy by trying to be too pure and giving up coffee, chocolate bananas etc. The latter seems to me to be an unnecessary complication.

Its like homesteading. If most of us tried to live totally off the grid, including the net, we'd likely feel that we overcomplicated our lives by trying to do everything ourselves. ON the other hand some level of compromise, which would technically be more complicated would in fact be easier and probably make us happier.

harriet_m_welsh June 30 2009, 21:08:26 UTC

In that case, we are on the same page!

cutelildrow July 1 2009, 02:01:12 UTC

you missed that the broken bone would probably have gotten infected or all sorts of other complications by now, having not been set.

Basic first aid was a MUST in the old times, as part of actual education they learned.

It's like the people who advocate trying to return to the rainforest, citing that rainforest dwellers are far healthier than city folk. And ignore that on average, modern citydwellers live twice as long these days than the primitives of yore.

paper_machete July 6 2009, 01:16:38 UTC

I really appreciate this.