Day 12 - Probably Asked Questions

The blog is about to celebrate its one-week-iversary, so I thought I'd take a moment to talk a little more about what I'm doing and why. Here are a few PAQ's - Probably Asked Questions about the project. They're not Frequently Asked Questions, as nobody's really asked me questions about the project, let alone asked them frequently, but if anyone were to frequently ask questions about it, this is my guess as to what they would probably be.

FOOD RULES FOR REALS PAQ'S

1. What are the Food Rules?

Food Rules is a book written by food writer Michael Pollan and illustrated by Maira Kalman, who, I believe, must have visited New Mexico at some point.

An illustration from Food Rules.

A photo of our local fast food chain, Blake's Lotaburger.

Food Rules gives simple, practical advice on how to get away from the Western diet, which Pollan defines as a diet "consisting of lots of processed foods and meat, lots of added fat and sugar, lots of refined grains, lots of everything except vegetables, fruits, and whole grains."

Pollan has written several books about what the Western diet is, how it gets to your plate, and why it's no good. It's a complicated, messy, and frustratingly ubiquitous affair. Food Rules condenses all of these ideas down into 83 simple guidelines that separate the good from the bad and the processed from the whole. The rules run the gamut from, "Don't ingest foods in places where everyone is required to wear a surgical cap," to "Place a bouquet of flowers on the table and everything will taste twice as good."

I plan to follow Pollan's Food Rules to the letter for the next six weeks. That means no chemicals, no preservatives, no food with more than five ingredients, no food made in plants, among a slew of other things to avoid.

2. Isn't that a bit extreme?

Yes. That's kind of the point. Because I believe our dependence on preservatives, artificial flavors and colors, and scientifically modified additives - that is, what Pollan calls "edible food-like substances," is extreme. I believe the fact that we can eat whole meals, go for whole weeks or months without having to think about where our food came from, except the box or can in front of us, is extreme.

Extreme times call for extreme measures (or something like that). It's worth the time and effort to understand food and how it comes to our table on a deeper level. And it's utterly necessary, for ourselves and for the future stewardship of the planet, to learn how to consume in a way that is considerate, mindful and balanced.

3. Why?

Pollan goes on to say that the modern Western diet is "an extraordinary achievement for a civilization. [We have] developed the the one diet that regularly makes its people sick." Obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and more than a third of all cancers can be linked to this type of diet.

But it's not just our health that suffers from the Western diet, its the health of the planet. The soil in huge swaths of this country's farmland is being stripped bare by monoculture caused by the over-production and over-processing of corn and soybeans. Pesticides are polluting our ground, soil, and sky. Fossil fuels burned to transport produce halfway around the world and into our local supermarkets are contributing to global warming and climate change.

The diet is, in essence, a total disaster.

I've wanted to give up processed food for a long time, and when I found Pollan's book, it was the perfect opportunity to give it a try.

4. Is that why you're doing this?

Yes. I'm also doing this now, specifically, for these six weeks, because it's Lent. I think that sacrifice - whatever way you observe it, be it keeping Kosher or observing Ramandan, or practicing Zen asceticism - is an important practice. It teaches us to be more conscious and aware inhabitants of the word; more understanding of the things we have to give up or go without and the sorrows we have to endure in the simple business of living, more attentive to the needs of others rather than just our own, and more joyous and grateful of the beauty the the world has to offer.

Observing Pollan's Food Rules is a perfect example of the spirituality of sacrifice. In giving up processed food, I hope to forge a stronger connection to the food on my plate and the role that food plays in the greater scheme of things. Consumption is a necessary but destructive act, and must be balanced by the loving act of creation - we forget that, I think, in contemporary society. We take, and we forget to give.

4. Oh no - so is this some kind of religious thing?

NO. God no. (No pun intended.) I'm a spiritual person, so I can't guarantee that I won't occasionally meander into spiritual musings, but this is not some kind of weird, fundamentalist thing. It's not about my personal religion (which, by the way, is none of your business) or how it should be yours.

It's just a girl who's trying to be a more observant, compassionate person.

5. What happens when it's over?

I don't know. I've been told that it takes six weeks to break a habit, which is part of why I like Lent - it's exactly six weeks. In an ideal world, I would observe these Food Rules forever and ever, but in reality, well, I really love bacon cheeseburgers - a product which I've learned would be completely impossible without the industrialization of food production.

Some years my sacrifice during Lent has led to a whole new lifestyle I would have never believed myself capable of: before I gave up dairy one year, I drank a glass of milk with every meal and smothered everything I ate in cheese. Now I never use milk except in coffee, and limit myself quite comfortably to a conservative serving of cheese or yogurt a day.

Other years, I'm not so successful: I've given up TV several times in the hopes of reducing my dependence on it, but I'm still known to indulge in frighteningly intense TV marathons that have practically made my eyes bleed.

It's hard to say, but I'm hoping for the best, because this is for me, the earth, and our future.