Eating Consciously

We need little convincing of the impact of Food on happiness. It is also a great example of where the Rider and the Elephant don't see eye to eye. What we want to put in our mouth now, and want we want to have put in our mouth once it has travelled South are two very different things. Once you have conquered having enough to survive, the problems don't stop....

If you think of the most serious problem we face in terms of people killed: it is overnutrition. Nothing else comes close.
— Nassim N. Taleb ن (@nntaleb) September 9, 2014

In America, #obesity & #diabetes fueling a national health crisis, but it's a problem across globe, not just in US http://t.co/xZ7wQ5KsW2
— Jess Kue (@jesskue) September 15, 2014

The Economist pointed to two books this week on links between food and culture - one a little lighter on cupcakes, fondue and Sex in the City. The other is described as an ambitious undertaking, a more scholarly approach, and 'not fast food - it requires concerted rumination'. In 'The Culinary Imagination', Sandra Gilbert explores 'mortality, religion, plentitude and denial, children's Utopias and dining as a spectacle, with food as her constant muse.' I will add it to my list and tell you what I think.

One of the first things to go when time becomes tight is the conscious preparation and consumption of food. Eating at the desk. Eating on the run. Good food has become cheaper and cheaper, and easier to source and prepare. Eating consciously becomes less a money issue in developed countries. It becomes a time issue.

This is one area I am certainly no expert at all... so please bear with me as I 'think and write aloud'. Any suggestions of books to read or recipes to try would be gladly appreciated. And of course, if the only way you can explain your thoughts on food is to invite me for a meal...