Balance of Food

Using a variety of media sources to learn about food

Besides the Balance of Food (of course), where else do you get your food information?

I'm certainly not asking out of jealousy, but my curiosity is enhanced, given the news that Gourmet magazine was being shut down after 68 years.

You would think that Gourmet magazine would thrive in this era. We're more gourmet than we've been in years. Yet, so many struggle to put food on the table that perhaps gourmet was too high a standard. Or "fresh" and "local" and "organic" replaced gourmet as a buzzword.

But do people read magazines to get food information anymore? Waiting a whole month for a few recipes when the Internet is filled with them seems charming.

Anecdotally, it seems that people trust each other about the latest diet or a cool recipe. Word of mouth means something. True, people get the original source from somewhere, so a friend may like what a friend has to say, but the original source might have been a magazine article.

In a social setting over the weekend, my conversation with two young women turned to the Food Network. These women were obsessed over the shows, the restaurants, and the food involved with the cable TV channel. They were talking about a trip to New York City where they went to celebrity-owned restaurants. They weren't likely getting their food ideas from magazines.

But not everyone can do that, or wants to do so. Most current settings involve harried parents (usually the mom) rushing around, trying to gather what could be called dinner provided the preparation was quick and reasonably nutritious. But do they even have time to read from magazines?

Regardless of the subject matter, media outlets compete for your attention. Internet sites work alongside TV, magazines, other Internet outlets trying to get you, the reader, to look over here. But how people absorb news is changing as well. Friends of mine can read this blog with an IPhone.

The key is finding information that is entertaining yet precise and, oh yeah, correct. Having news that sounds good to the reader doesn't serve the readership unless it's true. People literally don't have the time to absorb lies or deceptions.

Unfortunately for readers of Gourmet magazine, soon they won't be able to have that choice. But there are plenty that want to take its place.

Michael Pollan says we should make wiser food choices

As I mentioned earlier, this is the more in-depth look at Michael Pollan's Chicago visit along with notes from another nutrition-related lecture from last week, tying in a few themes together.

This essay was originally written for my day job, and was published on Friday. But as you will see, the audience for this Web site will also appreciate its content.

Here is the essay in its entirety:

For those in the colder regions of the world who struggle to eat local because, well, it's been cold out there, this is your season to rejoice. After all, if you can't enjoy the literal fruits of the harvest now, this just won't work out for you.

If you haven't been paying attention, eating local is one of the newest food trends, reducing your carbon footprint. It's about finding a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) arrangement to get locally grown fruits and vegetables or hitting the farmers market so often they start to know you by name.

You could do worse than follow Michael Pollan's advice to "avoid any foods that you've seen advertised." Pollan was in Chicago earlier this week on a book signing tour for "In Defense of Food," his follow-up to the highly acclaimed "The Omnivore's Dilemma."

Pollan spoke out about the need to re-regionalize food, to have fresher, less processed food that is also more climate friendly.

"You can't make money with simple foods," Pollan said. Marketers aren't giving up so fast, being on the offensive so quickly you might not remember they were on the defensive.

After Pollan had suggested to not buy food with more than 5 ingredients, you started to see products limiting themselves to 5 ingredients. Pollan cited Haagen-Dazs' five as an example of how marketers try to squeeze in to new expectations, even though it's not a health food since it's still ice cream.

Eating better in the summertime is easier no matter where you live, but there is burgeoning hope for the colder climates to have more options come wintertime. Pollan said there is progress in growing food in unheated greenhouses, citing one in Milwaukee, WI that uses hot compost and another in Maine where plastic is used to protect the crops.

He also suggests canning and freezing to supplement foods in places where winter makes an impact. But greenhouses will only go so far. "We feel entitled to have foods year-round," said Pollan. "Certain foods should be seasonal."

Pollan did observe that meat is the exception, given that the cost and carbon footprint savings just aren't there, noting that grass-fed beef could be gathered from different parts of the country, depending on where grass is best for that time of year.

What government can do

Government plays a role in the quality of our food supply. We subsidize corn to the max while keeping sugar prices artificially high. Moderator Bill Kurtis, owner of a grass-fed beef company in his native Kansas, pointed out that the system is set up against the small farmer, and how while corn farmers get lots of subsidies, grass farmers don't get subsidies.

Balance of Food gets some MSM love

It's tempting to be modest, but the beauty of blogs is that sometimes, self-promotion is necessary.

The food/nutrition expertise of yours truly got some well-deserved exposure this week, first from the Chicago Tribune and then the Southtown Star, the primary newspaper covering the near Southern suburbs of Chicago.

Monica Eng of the Chicago Tribune wrote about the backlash against the organic garden in the White House by the pro-pesticide camp, and mentioned the Balance of Food blog for its coverage on the topic.

I had highlighted the coverage from "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and the "Colbert Report."

Kristen McQueary of the Southtown Star wrote about sausage-making and how political bills get made. Since politics and food cross many paths in my life, McQueary thought I would be a good expert.

For that answer, I consulted one of the few people I know well-versed in both politics and food: Chad Rubel, of Chicago, managing editor of www.BuzzFlash.com, a progressive political blog.

Rubel can handicap the upcoming U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania or describe in excruciating detail the difference between a Cincinnati Coney Island hot dog and a Detroit Coney Island hot dog.

Hint: One is topped with sweet chili, specked with cinnamon.

"I think the sausage-making analogy refers to what goes into the sausage," Rubel said. "Really, you could put just about anything in a casing and call it sausage. It's the same with a bill. It's what you put in, how you put it in and how the finished product comes out."

Journalists can tell you they hate being part of the story. And it does feel a little weird. But in the world of blogs, you have to do some self-promotion. And the coverage was very accurate.

What on the Internet works for you in developing your nutrition style?

When I turned my eating life around about 5 years ago, I searched desperately for sources of information, especially for someone in my particular situation.

There were sources that provide some areas of assistance, but no one source covered everything. But two very useful resources at the time were two chats from washingtonpost.com: Lean Plate Club and What's Cooking. LPC died off when Sally Squires was offered a buyout, and now the Web site is ditching What's Cooking.

Kim O'Donnel is continuing the blog, and has talked about continuing the chat in another forum. But the chat format, hearing from people all over the world, is where I learn more than anything.

The Washington Post replaced LPC with the Lean & Fit newsletter. And I have subscribed to O'Donnel's newsletter. However, I really feel I can learn from the chat format.

Unfortunately, the newspaper industry is going through a rough period. And so, the chats won't be as much a part of my own personal help and assistance. Though, if O'Donnel keeps up the chat somewhere else, there will be perhaps a new chapter.

I've noticed that when LPC disappeared, the WaPo food section chat and O'Donnel's chat got more nutrition-related questions. Some of those came from me, whether they made the cut or not.

So how do you use the Internet to help you figure out what works for you nutritionally. There is, of course, this blog. But in an effort to be more modest, I'd like to hear from you on what works for you.

Are chats vitally important? Do you just look to read articles, personal blogs, and stories without any interaction? Just let us know in the comments section or you can e-mail me at nutritionwriter@yahoo.com. If you do send me an e-mail, let me know if I can use your words in this blog.

Michael Pollan for Ag Secretary?

Michael Winship (who writes for the Web site that is my day job) wrote a great piece on Michael Pollan and the possibility of being the Secretary of Agriculture in the upcoming Barack Obama Administration.

Pollan turns down the request, but did say something poignant:

"What Obama needs to do, if he indeed wants to make change in this area -- and that isn't clear yet that he does, at least in his first term -- I think we need a food policy czar in the White House because the challenge is not just what we do with agriculture, it's connecting the dots between agriculture and public health, between agriculture and energy and climate change, agriculture and education."

I've written about the many food-related issues that politics can actually solve. But I will let you read the remainder of Winship's essay.

I will take on this topic further in a short while. Looking forward to extending the conversation.

Lean & Fit replaces Lean Plate Club

For those, such as myself, who learned a lot from the Lean Plate Club, have a substitution from washingtonpost.com entitled Lean & Fit.

Jennifer Huget is running things, replacing, as it were, Sally Squires, who took The Washington Post buyout.

Those who got the previous LPC newsletters now get a copy of the Lean & Fit newsletter. There does seem to be more about exercise in the initial e-mail newsletter. And recipes are more prominent.

But one step I haven't seen, and wonder about, is the weekly chat on the Web site, traditionally on Tuesdays. I have noticed that the WaPo food section chat has taken a number of nutritional questions, so clearly there is still a need. The What's Cooking segment, which sometimes got nutritional questions, either hasn't received them lately or Kim O'Donnel hasn't put them in the chat.

So I wonder what you liked about the Lean Plate Club, what you didn't like, and what Lean & Fit can do to help improve your dietary/nutritional situation. Let us know what you think.