Blog – Campbell Raw Press

A portion of our weekly CSA veggie share from 2 weeks ago

On a completely non-paper, non-work-related note, this post got me thinking even more than usual about a couple of things about food that really fascinate me and are really important to me.

One of the things I’ve found in my life that satisfies and relaxes me more than almost anything else is cooking. As I’ve developed my cooking skills over the last several years, I’ve learned a lot about food along the way; some from handling and choosing what I use, and some from cookbooks, essays, articles, and books. And, yes, I am a Michael Pollan devotee.

Reading that post this morning just reminded me that not everyone thinks so carefully about our food all the time, yet it’s a huge part of how our lives work and how we work. Growing up in Iowa, summer was always an abundant time for corn, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, melons, and a whole lot more. However, when you’re younger, you’re spared a lot of the background: government subsidies, factory farming, pesticides, and fertilizers that all condition certain crops to grow a certain way; a way that has (as far as I can tell) economic success, but not health and sustainability at its core.

This year, we became members of our neighborhood’s CSA (don’t know about CSAs?), so I’m feeling pretty aware of what the circumstances are surrounding much of the produce, fruit, and meat we’re eating. If you don’t have access to a CSA, though, farmers’ markets are almost always a great source of really stellar produce, and often meat, bread, and dairy products, too.

The first Michael Pollan book I read was The Botany of Desire and I’ll always remember him describing how imperfections have been bred out of our food to make peppers pack more uniformly into boxes for international shipping, among other things. All I’m saying is, next time you have the choice, think about picking the pepper that’s a little misshapen. We all have our imperfections, and I’m guessing our food probably should, too.

The point? I just think that, when you can, it’s always a good idea to be alert, ask questions, make choices for yourself, rather than letting someone else (or some conglomerate) make them for you. As my dad said, “Watch closely, shake the box.” Let your curiosity get the better of you.

And now…back to books & paper!