The American Way of Eating

The American Way of Eating

Adult non fiction
The path produce takes from point of origin to fork involves a
number of middle men and women. It's harvested, routed and
transported. At stores it's received, stored, and often doctored up
to make it more salable. In restaurants it's cooked or at least
finished off to give diners the meal experience minus prep and
dishes. Reading Tracie McMillan's The American Way Of Eating:
Undercover at Walmart, Applebees, Farm Fields, and the Dinner Table
gives the strong impression that when it comes to our food, ignorance
is not always bliss or even safe. From just that stand point the book
is well worth its cost.
However, The American Way Of Eating also examines this route
from an equally important standpoint, one we very rarely think about:
the welfare of the people who participate in the work at different
steps along the way. In one of the cruelest paradoxes in America, the
people whose labor produces the bounty on many of our tables don't
earn enough to consume a healthy diet. We should care. We need to
care.
Fortunately for us, McMillan stepped way out of her comfort zone
and walked quite a few of the proverbial miles in others' shoes. In
the tradition of Nellie Bly, she went underground for some good old
fashioned investigative reporting. In California she harvested grapes
and garlic. In Michigan she worked nights stocking at WalMart. In
New York City she worked as an expediter at Applebees. A lot of what
she experienced came as a surprise to me, and I think at least some
will give you food for thought.
The American Way Of Eating is one of those wonderful books that
entertains as it enlightens, touches the heart as well as the mind.
McMillan genuinely likes and bonds with the people with whom she lives
and works. She is quite candid about the changes in life style and
attitude occassioned by this foray into blue collar turf. Read it and
you'll never see your local supermarket or restaurant in quite the
same way.
So whatcha waiting for?
On a personal note, this year among our Community Garden crew I
have become, in additional to most sociable gardener, the gleaner.
This came about after I read/became a disciple of Edward Humes'
Garbology, a must read book, not a cult. I laid down the law that no
one would get to turn over a bed until I had made sure there was no
edible veggies left to waste. If you garden you know Mother Nature
has still not grasped the concept of incrementalism. We had a short
space between no spinach and spinach inundation. There was a bed in
danger of bolting (going to seed, not running away) if it was not
harvested ASAP. I took that on and ended up with quite a bit to
distribute. More than my list of spinach lovers would take off my
hands. I lovingly cut and washed a good quantity for church lunch. I
spoke about it during joys and concerns. It vanished when the chips
and cookies were still plentiful. I'm not sure whether Methodists:
*love spinach,
*find me very convincing,
*or don't want to see what I do if spinach is left to wilt.
But I chose to frame it as a beautiful and educational experience.
A great big shout out goes out to my fellow gardeners.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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