January 8, 2008
None other than the author of Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food talked us through the politics of eating right. Prompted by a listener question, Pollan revealed his own "guilty pleasure" snacks:
Cracker Jack and corn chips.
I'm with him on the corn chips. You?
Interesting that Pollan's guilty pleasures are both corn-based, given how thoroughly he's exposed the ways that corn is a destructive force in American agriculture.
Oreos
Peanut butter cups. Salad dressing. Ice cream (unless that's considered a "real food"?) and I sure agree with Susie on the Oreos.
Swedish Fish! Nothing but artificial flavors, corn syrup, and artificial color!
Nacho Cheese Doritos. And I know they are so bad for me, with the MSG and all.
Jagermeister. I'm pretty sure it's drilled straight from the pits of Hell.
Organic "pop tarts", we call them "crack tarts" in our house.
Salty snacks. I can't eat just one!
Scrapple - Everything but the squeal - or Babe in a blender, Fig Newtons too. Comfort food of the mid-atlantic region
I enjoyed the discussion. Except when Michael Pollan talked about getting pleasure from eating and thinking about the whole chain process - something about he grass that feed the cow the cow that's feeding him....I have to say regarding this, go to www.goveg.com and link to the investigative reports on the treatment of the animals before they are brought to the table. Since seeing these reports last week, meat has been taken off of my list of foods. I wish you would talk about this as a subject of one of your shows. Best. Dewey Elder
Dewey, regarding your comment about the treatment of animals - it is true that factory farmed meats involve terrible treatment of animals to the point where I consider it immoral. However, if you consider eating animals acceptable, there are definitely alternatives to this. There are farms that raise animals in a humanely and on pasture (grass fed), and organizations that monitor animal treatment (www.certifiedhumane.org). If you investigate, you will find quite a bit of information out there. The more people who purchase ethical animal food products, the better!
Theresa
Kraft Mac n Cheese!
Fried chicken wings from Mitchell's grill and gas station in Boonsboro, VA. They are perfect; not too salty, not too greasy. Yum.
Chocolate chips--usually the bittersweet variety, but milk chocolate does just fine.
Soft-serve ice cream...yummers!
burgers. Five Guys.
I love tortilla chips and the bottle of cheese dip!! I know it has virtually no nutritional value but I love to eat it for snacks on a Saturday afternoon while cleaning.
Fruit Loops but with a warning: overindulgence (several bowls at one sitting) can lead to a sore roof-of-your mouth! Maybe stick with one bowl (for other reasons, too, of course!)
Cadbury chocolate Easter Eggs, only available at Easter (thank goodness!)
Milk Duds and Junior Mints!
So many options of the guilty pleasure. But at the moment it probably is Rocky Road/Heavenly Hash Ice Cream. It is hard to find true Sealtest Heavenly Hash in Indiana.
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