Food Issues Are Human Issues

The arrival of The New York Times Magazine's Food Issue created the sort of enthusiasm and anticipation among foodies that they usually reserve for a big restaurant opening. Twitter messages excitedly announced magazine previews and I think, in the wake of the loss of Gourmet magazine, there was something especially meaningful about this issue.

The New York Times Magazine always delivers on great writing, amazing photos and timely topics, but the Food Issue in my opinion gets scripture status and should be kept forever, perhaps among your cookbooks, and referred to often. The cover story follows Jamie Oliver, aka the Naked Chef, to America's unhealthiest town to try to remake their diets and lifestyles. The great food writer and author of ln Defense of Food, Michael Pollan, gives us "The New Food Rules" and a collection of readers' dietary dos and don'ts, which range from sensible to humorous but are always healthy. This feature is even more fun online than in print; flip through the tips and enjoy the illustrations -- my favorite is the one of Ho Hos. Mark Bittman, who writes the Minimalist column for The Times and wrote How to Cook Everything (which also gets scripture status and prime placement among my cookbooks) wrote about his dreams for online grocery shopping. Imagine if "you could ask and be told the provenance and ingredients of any product you look at in your Web browser. You could specify, for example, "wild, never-frozen seafood" or "organic, local broccoli." Brilliant. The magazine also covers malnutrition in India, California food pantries replacing cans with fresh food and Jonanthan Safran Foer's meat dilemmas.

The issue is a great overview of where America stands on food right now. As Jamie Oliver tries to win over a small West Virginia town by helping to make their famous 15-pound burger, he is also trying to get them to cook for themselves and make healthier decisions in the supermarket and in the kitchen. He is trying to let them know there is room for both the 15-pound burger (in moderation, perhaps shared with a few friends?) and homemade healthy dinners in their lives. But he worries about offending the very people he hopes to change.

There are those who believe that food and health issues are problems that only the elite have time to worry about. We seem to have such polarizing views on food right now. But, the Food Issue deals with food as a human issue. It's an issue for the poor in India and the entire city of Huntington, West Virginia. It's an issue for those who want to save money, dream of new inventions, be aware global citizens and enjoy good food.