Time for a Revolution? Not Quite.

A pair of articles in this weekend's New York Times puts the spotlight back on the ol' hometown and the optimism of the local/organic/anti-agri-business/slow food movement.

First up: Andrew Martin's "Is a Food Revolution Now in Season?", the latest in speculative will-they-or-won't-they-change-the-world journalism. It's not a bad article, it just seems like I've read it before. The only difference? The bits about the Obama Administration. Okay, I'll concede that there's an authentic spirit of hopefulness in the new outlook of many of these foodies and food pioneers -- one that's not related to how well Whole Foods' stock is doing today. While I agree that the new administration brings with it cause for celebration in the local food world, until the political world can reconcile to a holistic approach to food and environment, foodies are simply patching up cracks in the quagmire's façade.

For instance, check out this choice quote from Fred Hoefner, policy director of the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, when asked about Michelle Obama's new White House vegetable garden: “We just want to make sure that interest in that symbolic action can be channeled into some of the more difficult policy challenges.”

The point in new Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack's plan that'll have the most impact (IMHO) is the placement of fresh, unprocessed foods in school kitchens. Many children in the cities of Berkeley and Oakland relied on free school breakfasts in my day, a fact that I'm sure only increases in times of economic crisis. And having school lunch options with real vegetables that taste really good will go a long way toward changing the eating habits of children across America -- and perhaps their parents' too. After all, when Junior comes home and asks for arugula, Mom's more likely to give it a try, right? And wouldn't you know, the first lady agrees!

Chew on that for a minute, then start reading Mark Bittman's article, "Eating Food That's Better For You, Organic or Not", which I'll cover later this week.

Duh: Vegetables are good for you.

Tara Parker-Pope blogs over at The Well, a New York Times blog, and yesterday she posted "The 11 Best Foods You Aren't Eating", a fairly comprehensive list of foods that aren't incorporated into the average person's daily diet. (Pro tip: Check out the comments for some great recipe ideas and Tara's replies to her readers, some of which betray her closet case of bitchiness.)

Your mom already told you that beets are good for you, and Richard on Top Chef reinforced this idea on the cookin'-with-kiddies episode this season. Cabbage is so delicious, and often overlooked. Also, most people slather cabbage in mayo and think they're doing themselves a favor. Newsflash for these folks: the mayo offsets your attempt at health. TPP is quick to suggest an alternative -- here's a recipe for Asian Slaw with Peanuts from Epicurious. Personally, I'd skip the peanuts and throw on some sesame seeds to substitute the crunch and avoid the overpowering nut flavor, since I dig the taste of cabbage.

For anyone who eats spinach avidly (one of the superfoods that usually makes these top lists), swiss chard is probably a known substitute, especially because it's prepared so similarly. At my favorite farmer's market, the chard is such a pretty sight that one can't help but be tempted by the bright stems, especially in winter when everything else in season is so void of color. Canned pumpkin and frozen blueberries are great tips for high antioxidant foods that can be kept in the cupboard/freezer year-round. I like to substitute purréed pumpkin for the eggs & water portions of the readymade recipe for a boxed chocolate cake -- it makes for a great, fluffy vegan cake when you're short on time -- but don't forget the oil or it won't puff up enough!

Of course, all the aforementioned basically boil down to the following: Eat More Freaking Plants (with apologies to Michael Pollan for butchering his lovely original phrase). To add irony to the eye-roll, what should appear on the RSS this morning but TPP's latest missive: "Lying About Your Vegetables".

Meat.

As a former vegan, pescavegetarian (no meat or dairy, except fish -- a short lunch break made the sushi place across from work semi-obligatory), and ovovegetarian, but currently an unapologetic meat lover, I've wondered how I can cut back on meat in a practical way -- still able to enjoy the occasional slice of bacon, without the side of guilt. Apparently, someone at the New York Times has been reading my mail -- this week saw publication of the article "Putting Meat Back In Its Place", which is basically a consumption guide for those of us who'd like a little less factory in our farm (or just feel guilty about eating so much meat, or whatever -- Mark Bittman lays out the irrelevancy of the readers' motives in the first paragraph), and are willing to cut back on the amount of flesh-based food in our diet.

Though longtime restricted-diet adherents will probably find most of the recommended steps to be old hat ("4. Buy more vegetables, and learn new ways to cook them"), there is an undercurrent in the article that demands we reconceptualize meat, perhaps think of it the way we're also being asked to think of fossil fuels -- something precious, a commodity not to be considered infinitely renewable, a luxury. I enjoyed the subtlety of Bittman's article. He's one of my favorite food writers, because he's never negative, just excited about coaxing his readers toward a positive, and that skill is displayed plainly in this week's article.

My favorite way to cut back on meat is to have vegan dinners at least once a week, which is surprisingly easy when you pool all the leftover veg from the meatier nights of the week. Throw the veg in a cast iron skillet, cook it down in a bit of wine or veg stock, throw it over couscous or quinoa, and add some pre-cooked garbanzos or lentils on top. Yum! And totally meat-free.

Of course, if I ever decide to return to my former meat-eschewing ways, I'll always have this to keep my palate happy.