Hold the Presses!

I finally posted again at Farm to Philly about my winter CSA and a tasty recipe for a winter cabbage salad, and I was just about to sit down to post about three locavore restaurants in three very different cities to be followed up in the coming days by a more general post about the pleasure and ease of eating local in the Bay Area, when Mark Bittman sidetracked me big time. Now, my New York Times obsession has been well-documented and my respect for Mr. Bittman nears that of my adoration for Alice Waters. I am proud to say that I even gave the gift of his updated cookbook, How to Cook Everything, to a worthy omnivore this Christmas. Admittedly, I had already envisioned pointing out that Mark Bittman had also blogged about a cabbage salad in his blog, Bitten, though my salad might be indeed all the tastier for the addition of tart apples, red onion and walnuts. I did not, however, intend to devote this post to Mark Bittman, whom I now hold in even higher regard. But a quick browse through my food and eco links led me to Grist and a post honoring Mr. Bittman, who has a new book, Food Matters. The brief article also included an incredible video clip, which I am (attempting to) embed here.Mark Bittman held this talk last year (or 2007) at TED. This is an invitation only based conference and covers a plethora of topics. Bittman was, obviously, talking about food. Not only food, though, but the way we eat and how this impacts the environment and our health. Sound familiar? Topics that interest me a tiny bit? Matters that should concern everyone, as this is a global problem that could actually be controlled by simple life style changes? Oh yeah. For some, what Bittmann says here is not news, but he, like Michael Pollan, addresses these issues simply, with great lucidity and with humor. Also, like Pollan, Bittman is not a vegetarian and he is not insisting that the world stop consuming meat, but he does candidly address industrial agriculture and its (massive and horrendous) implications on the environment. He also points to the corruption of the food pyramid and the strong relations between how we are told to eat and the economic desires and greed of agribusiness. In short, take 20 minutes and watch this video. He has some nice visuals, but, if need be you, you could listen while you go about your day.