Day 27

22. It’s not food if it arrived through the window of your car
23. It’s not food if it’s called by the same name in every language (think Big Mac, Cheetos or Pringles).

Does this mean I can't get coffee from the Starbucks drive-thru?

Actually, the answer to that question is moot, as I tend not to drive a car anyway. And even if I did, I restrict my fast food intake to three times a year, maximum. I try to make it only once or twice. And junk food like Pringles and Cheetos have been generally banished from my belly for many years now, so that's no big deal either.

I used to love fast food. Even when I was a vegetarian - I orded the Fillet O'Fish. Who cares? It all tastes like the same salt-and-grease-soaked cardboard anyway. Mmmmm, grease and salt.

Anyway, I don't really know what happened. One day, I just... stoppped craving fast food. I think a part is due to the documentary Super Size Me, which I never saw, but heard enough about the massive weight gain and cholesterol spike, mood swings, sexual problems and other various health issues Mr. Spurlock suffered after eating nothing but McDonald's for a month straight to get the basic idea.

Think about it this way. I told myself. McDonald's products not only fail to nourish, they actually actively harm you. It's not just not-food, it's worse: it's anti-food.

Anti-food, anti-food, I'd think to myself whenever I was tempted during days of wandering the streets of New York looking for a decent lunch to stop wasting time and money and just buy a damn Wendy's cheeseburger.

And after a while, fast food actually stopped looking like food.

If only ALL my vices could be solved so easily.

In fairness, my disinterested is also probably due it part to my post-vegetarian obsession with burgers. Y'all, I am REALLY REALLY SUPER PASSIONATE ABOUT BURGERS. Specifically bacon cheeseburgers. Cooked medium rare. Consumed with beer.

Mmmm. It's difficult to type right now, because my eyes are rolling back into my head just thinking about it.

But when you really, really love burgers, and you've had a really, really good burger, how can the slop they serve at Mickey D's possibly cut it?

A burger from Back Forty in New York - maybe the best burger I've ever had

Which, I believe, is an important point of this book. Appreciate your food. LOVE your food. Food is so quickly and cheaply available in this country that it's too easy to just eat without any real awareness of it. But when you take the time to truly love and appreciate your food, you will naturally choose good food, real food.

Which is, in fact, the next rule:

24. When you eat real food, you don't need rules