Placing the weight of the world on food

December 15, 1:51 PMFood ExaminerEric Burkett

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Sometimes a sandwich is just a sandwich.

Browsing on line a few nights ago, I ran across an impassioned post on a vegan/raw food site from a woman concerned about a cover-up by “experts” about the health implications of a vegan/raw food diet for children. Her concerns weren’t quite what you might think: a committed vegan herself, she was dismayed by efforts to raise children on a vegan/raw food diet despite evidence such a diet is dangerous for them.

I do not believe vegan or raw diets are healthy, but that isn’t really the crux of my post today. As someone who, like you, is passionate about food and who prepares and writes about food for a living, I’m continually amazed by the attachments we place on food.

It’s nothing new, of course. Food fads come and go as people try to find cures for illness, or edible answers to various problems. By eating tons of one item or not eating other things, by embracing a lifestyle based on diet, we are searching for answers. That’s not to say there aren’t foods that some people should avoid, or that specific foods aren’t helpful in treating some conditions. But, despite that – or perhaps because of my own involvement with food – I believe strongly that food is just food. It will not save us or make us better persons.

I suspect that, for many, embracing a food philosophy also brings a source of community and belonging. It gives a sense of purpose. It becomes, albeit unintentionally, an attachment. As the pot in this post calling the kettle black, I do have my own attachments. I’m a big fan of the locavore movement and I believe organic foods are better in the long run for both the environment and our health. I think people should only eat wild – not farmed – salmon and I believe canned peas are a travesty.

Soy, carbohydrates, raw foods, vinegar, tea, Vitamin C, and goji berries all have had, or are having, their moments in the sun as miracle foods capable of solving all our problems. (Actually, I didn’t even know what a goji berry was until I looked it up a few minutes ago. Turns out it’s just a plain old wolf berry, a popular but healthy and traditional flavoring in Chinese cooking.)

Good food has the ability to make our lives richer and more enjoyable. Good food, healthy food, makes us stronger and healthier. Good food can and does build a sense of community, and despite my protest that food is just food, I believe the foods we eat and how we treat them has a tremendous impact on many aspects of our lives and society. I believe, too, that food has a spiritual role in our lives. After all, isn’t preparing food for, and feeding those we love, a spiritual act?