The Foodscape We Live In

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Food is such a multi-faceted thing. It involves family, tradition, childhood experience, emotions (think comfort food), willpower (meal planning, choices), health, agriculture, and economics. The food choices we make every day are to some extent determined by all these various factors and in turn affect so many other things, such as our health and the kind of agriculture our food dollars support.

For those who grew up in a household where regular meals made from fresh ingredients were the norm, they are fortunate because this good habit was taught by example. The added benefit is that they probably got a nutrition-based healthy start in life. But society’s food options and customs changed drastically in the last 30-40 years. Things like microwaves, highly processed items, moms with careers beyond the home, along with other factors, all impacted our ‘foodscape’.

The so-called convenience of pre-cooked ingredients and meals is, for the majority of people, probably too tempting or sometimes necessary just to get through a typical day. The downside of this is that these items are not only devoid of quality nutrition, but also are full of sugar, sweeteners, excessive salt, unhealthy oils, and all manner of synthetic additives—which, when consumed regularly, place added stress on digestion mechanisms, the liver, and kidneys, to name a few. Shelf life is inversely proportional to the quality of nutrition. Healthier foods are fresh and biologically active, thus feeding the good bacteria in our guts.

What is tragic about the prevailing food norms is that there are many preventable chronic diseases, if only proper nutrition is/had been practiced. Not that environment and genetic heritage are unimportant, but the problem is that we have too many improper choices. For those who want to do better, it is no easy thing to change a lifetime of habits, traditions, and lasting effects of experiences. However, small but steady steps are the path forward, and educating oneself on the basics of nutrition and health are a great place to start. I recommend the highly readable Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual by Michael Pollan. Concepts are presented in an easy to understand yet somewhat detailed way, just enough for you to get the picture, so to speak. There is a very amusing illustrated version of the book that makes it a really fun read. Heck, it might even make a good book club candidate among the shoppers at Miami County Locally Grown!

Caroline McColloch
Chez Nous Farm
cheznousfarm@gmail.com

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