The Omnivore's Manifesto

Michael Pollan has another great piece in today's New York Times Magazine, essentially a diatribe against processed food. At the end, he has a 9 point list of how to eat - "simple principles of healthy eating". His 9 points are elaborated upon, but here are the main points:

1. Eat food.
2. Avoid even those food products that come bearing health claims.
3. Especially avoid food products containing ingredients that are a) unfamiliar, b) unpronounceable c) more than five in number — or that contain high-fructose corn syrup.
4. Get out of the supermarket whenever possible.
5. Pay more, eat less.
6. Eat mostly plants, especially leaves.
7. Eat more like the French.
8. Cook. And if you can, plant a garden…So you might want to think about putting down this article now and picking up a spatula or hoe.
9. Eat like an omnivore.

I laughed when I got to item #8 - yesterday, I made 4 quarts of chili, 2 1/2 quarts of barley soup, a batch of granola, a loaf of whole wheat bread with cinnamon/sugar/butter swirled up inside, and a batch of the no-knead bread (which is still rising). I think I did my share of spatula-lifting yesterday.