One Geek, One Earth

This challenge is very similar to the localvore challenge (eat local when you can, etc) but with some added caveats based on the algorithms/rules in Michael Pollan’s book, In Defense of Food. I don’t have any preset goals with the In Defense of Food challenge – my overall health is probably the best it has ever been. My wife has decided to join me and she would like to see if this will help accelerate weight loss, but for me, I’m just curious how much convenience and money I’m forced to sacrifice to manage this, and at the end of it see if I feel different. It’s a fun experiment – a learning experience for me and for you, gentle reader. Now straight to his “algorithms” and how they incorporate into the challenge. For the sake of brevity, I’m not including all of them here, but this will get across the gist of it. It’s still a long post, so forgive me in advance.

• Don’t Eat Anything Your Great Grandmother Wouldn’t Recognize as Food

This one is easy – avoid products like Gogurt and Twinkies that aren’t really food, but are more like “foodish products”. I’ve already eliminated most of these things from my diet. This is not a large step.

• Avoid Food Products Containing Ingredients that are A) Unfamiliar B) Unpronounceable C) More than five in number or that include D) High-fructose corn syrup

Woo-boy. If you’ve ever looked at the ingredients list at almost any product in the supermarket, you will have noticed the vast majority violate this rule in one form or another. The high fructose corn syrup alone invalidates so many. It is in bread, for pete’s sake. It seems to be in everything. This will definitely be the hardest rule to follow 100% and I expect that I may end up violating this one every now and again (the 5 ingredients rule will be especially difficult).

• Avoid Food Products That Make Health Claims

If I can avoid packaged food in general, this will be an easy rule to follow – this rule exists to remind us of the “dubious benefits of nutritionism”.

• Shop the Peripheries of the Supermarket and Stay Out of the Middle

• Get Out of the Supermarket Whenever Possible

These two rules push you towards the healthier things in the supermarket located on the outside – fruits, vegetables, dairy, meat and so on. And preferably stay out of the supermarket altogether and get everything from local sources. I’m not sure that is completely feasible, but we’re going to do our best. We did just find out that there is a CSA option that would allow us to get grass fed beef and pork, which would be awesome and solve many of our problems, but I think there will always be staples that we will have to get at the supermarket.

• Eat Mostly Plants, Especially Leaves

• You Are What What You Eat Eats Too

This two will end up being easier if we’re following the rest of the rules, because it will be more inconvenient and more expensive to buy meat outside of the supermarket. And our current mobile market setup gets us a lot of plants, especially the green leafy ones that we might not have eaten a lot. Before this, I had never eaten a collard green or a turnip green. (Verdict: Not bad). I’m looking forward to getting some grass fed beef – if I have to lower my intake, probably better for me and makes each time a special occasion.

• If You Have the Space, Buy a Freezer

We do and already have. Now we just need to make sure we have the proper technique for freezing produce so we’ll have some available for the winter months.

• Eat Well Grown Food from Healthy Soils

Our mobile market is organic based, so this should follow naturally.

• Eat More Like the French, or the Italians, or the Japanese, or the Indians, or the Greek
• Regard Non Traditional Foods With Skepticism
• Don’t Look for the Magic Bullet in the Traditional Diet

These rules basically suggest that traditional cultural food patterns are successful for a reason – they work, and you diverge from them at your peril. The diets also work as a whole – you can’t just pull out one ingredient and say “That’s what makes this diet work.” I will be making an effort to learn traditional dishes as part as my cooking growth.

• Have a Glass of Wine with Dinner

This one is harder than you would think. Alcohol in moderation has solid benefits, but for whatever reason, I’ve never liked the taste of alcohol. I’ve tried wine a few times and never really been fond of it. So time to get back up on the horse and try again.

• Pay More, Eat Less

As he puts it, “choose quality over quantity, food experience over mere calories.” Eating less is better for you in lots of different ways, and the easiest way to do that is to eat better and savor what you do eat more. I’m hoping we can do this, although I’m worried about the impact on our budget.

• Eat Meals
• Do All Your Eating at a Table
• Don’t Get Your Fuel From the Same Place Your Car Does
• Try Not to Eat Alone

These 4 rules are all grouped together because they basically all say the same thing – the best way to eat is at a table, as a formal meal rather than a snack that you have with other people. Joy and I have not been great at this because of our odd schedules. We’re planning to make an attempt to get back into the habit of better dinner environments.

• Consult Your Gut
• Eat More Slowly

We oftentimes rush through our food too quickly, ruining the experience of the food and causing to not pay attention to how much or what type of food we’re eating. Food is meant to be enjoyed and savored and I think we’d all be better off if we spent a little more appreciating the food that we have and are eating.

• Cook And, If You Can, Plant a Garden

Cooking I have got covered. We’ve gone out to eat once in the past few months (and that was the result of a bad cooking experiment). The garden is a little harder, as I can’t really start one until we move to a new house, and that probably won’t be until next year. But I might make an effort to start a windowsill herb garden for the kitchen.

And that’s it. I’m going to be blogging every so often over the next few months to talk about my progress in moving away processed foods, as well as what my difficulties and obstacles were. I hope this long post hasn’t driven you away – stick around for a bit and see how I do.

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