For the Love of Food

by Darya Rose | Oct 18, 2013

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

This week homemade is the new organic, standing is as good as running marathons, and the creepy Big Brother-ish future of food marketing.

Want to see all my favorite links? (There’s lots more). Be sure to follow me on on Delicious. I also share links on Twitter @summertomato, Google+ and the Summer Tomato Facebook page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you. (And yes, I took that pepper heart pic myself).

Links of the week

Homemade Is the New Organic <<An interesting perspective on how we’ve romanticized cooking from scratch to an almost unattainable ideal. A word of advice: don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. (The Atlantic)
Calorie burner: How much better is standing up than sitting? <<Can standing an extra few hours a day be the equivalent of 10 marathons a year? It seems extreme, but a bit more standing seems to be healthier (and easier) regardless. (BBC)
Bill Gates explains why fake meat is the future <<BS of the week. Really, Bill Gates? More fake food is the answer? Thanks, but I’ll pass. (Treehugger)
Behold Banksy’s Ronald McDonald Sculpture in New York <<Famed street artist Banksy is in NYC this month and seems to be focusing on Big Food. I’m a fan. (Eater)
Study: We’ll Enjoy Food More If You Don’t Instagram It <<This headline is a little misleading, since they actually showed that looking at more pictures of one kind of food (not necessarily taking a single picture of your own food) decreases the pleasure we gain from it. Still it’s an interesting finding that could maybe be helpful in letting us get more enjoyment from pictures than calories. Is that a bad thing? (The Atlantic)
When It Comes to the Good Cholesterol, Fitness Trumps Weight <<Interesting new research shows that HDL works differently depending of your fitness level, regardless of body weight. Once again, biology is complicated. (ScienceDaily)
This snack-food corporation has a creepy plan to watch you in the grocery store <<Never forget that marketing is the main focus of food companies. (Washington Post)
Annals of Nutrition Science: Coca-Cola 1; NHANES 0 <<In a similar vein, keep this in mind next time a food company announces that they’re interested in your health. (Food Politics)
The Fastest Way to Prep Leafy Greens for Cooking <<Cool tip for quickly removing the stems from kale, collards and chard. (Lifehacker)
Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Sausage and Kale <<I can almost taste the fall flavors in this delicious sounding dish. (Simply Recipes)

What inspired you this week?

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Tags: B.S. of the week, Banksy, Big Food, Exercise, fake meat, fitness, food marketing, food photography, good cholesterol, HDL, Health, homemade, pleasure, sedentary, sitting

5 Responses to “For the Love of Food”

Shannon C says:

October 18, 2013 at 12:16 pm

I’m honestly a little taken aback at your words on Bill Gates’s article on meat alternatives. I read his entire post and I’m familiar with some of the brands that he mentions – I think it’s a little hasty to discount it just because of the word ‘fake’. Meat consumption at the level that Americans do it has serious consequences for the environment and it’s worth giving his points some consideration.

Reply
GiGi Eats Celebrities says:

October 18, 2013 at 9:31 pm

I am obsessed with the article about standing because I stand at my desk for up to 6 – 8 hours a day, every day… Woo Woo! I am definitely tired at the end of the day after doing that, and look forward to SITTING! Oh and on top of this, I work out almost 2 hours (sometimes almost 3) a day! I think I am doing something right over here – Thanks for making me feel GOOD! lol

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Cathy says:

October 19, 2013 at 12:09 pm

Darya, I love your opinions 99.9% of the time, but you so have it wrong on the Bill Gates / fake meat topic! Of course fake food is a bad idea overall, but this is an important exception. It’s probably more accurately called ‘cultured’ than fake anyway.
Let’s set aside the selfishness of getting a burger at the expense of pollution and the pain, fear and suffering of the animals involved. The long term cost of producing protein for a world where humans are procreating like rabbits makes this brilliant, not BS. There are better options than eating ‘real’ carcasses and if those are fake food, dish it up, I’m all for it.
So, love ya! but Boo Hiss! on putting this research down!

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- Darya Rose says:
  
  October 19, 2013 at 1:13 pm
  
  Fair enough. What really put me off was the “eggs with lower cholesterol” thing, since as soon as this process turns to nutritionism it’s as bad as packaged food.
  
  My other big concern is the issue of food culture and taste. I think meat should be a scarce luxury, for many reasons. Also, I don’t think it’s possible to replicate the flavors of say, jamon iberico from acorn fed pigs. They probably won’t even attempt to compete flavor-wise, which means the goal is mass production, which undermines the “food should have more value, not less” philosophy I support. Make sense?
  
  Reply
  - Cathy says:
    
    October 19, 2013 at 1:31 pm
    
    I agree, meat should be a scarce luxury, but people don’t use it that way. Unfortunately humans overall are a glutinous species, and I don’t think we’re ever going to talk enough of them – let alone any pre-bypass, self-respecting he-Texans – to go easy on the beef.
    
    I, too, am a little iffy on messing around with cholesterol in eggs…they’re pretty perfect as they are. But such a big part of the issue in all this is that the meat (or egg) animals really can’t be humanely raised at the volume needed to provide enough product for the masses. So while we’re growing a better (more humane, less polluting) source, why not make it health-helpful where we can.
    
    As far as replicating flavors, no doubt you’re right. But this is a nation that happily consumes pink slime and taco ‘meat’ of dubious provenance. Most of them, especially those of limited means, never experience a glimpse of an acorn-fed pig, much dine on one 🙂
    
    Thanks for replying with an open mind. You really provide a valuable service on this site.
    
    Cheers,
    Cathy