Have you ever just simply observed a group of teenage boys eating? Well if so, then you most definitely can identify with what I am about to say. However, if you are not privy to such a delight, let me forewarn you--Teenage boys have a tendency to eat everything in sight! Amazingly, even though they are in the process of simply transitioning from boy to man, they are able to devour twice or three times the amount of food as you and I—and in only about half the amount of time. They want their food and they want it now--Instant gratification, Instant satiation….and “Mom, are you going to finish that?”
“Without Food I wouldn’t be here,” exclaimed one of my teenage son’s buddies as he and a group of others bounded into our kitchen to devour three large take-out pizzas, including a hefty order of garlic cheese sticks plus a two-liter bottle of sugary sweet soda. “Duh” replied another while piling numerous slices upon his plate.
As I silently observed the boys toss down their pizza, I delighted in my own sacred serving of freshly sautéed, green, leafy kale, and giggled to myself as I considered how these young men were so enamored with this slab of baked, yeasty dough, topped with red tomato sauce and bubbling, oozing cheese. I thought about what their reactions might have been instead if a huge serving of my garden greens were waiting on their plates in place of the standard American fare they were gobbling down at top speed.
But then as I really payed attention to them, it became quite apparent that they were not actually even chewing the food—not savoring each bite and flavor of the pizza as I was. They were munching through it with huge chomps and washing it down with soda while they engaged in a variety of teen centered conversations—none, of course, about the food at hand.
Well, for some reason, the pizza scene really got me thinking. How has my very own family become so used to such great American conveniences? We aren’t supposed to be like everybody else because I know better! Is it just because I was busy and it was faster and easier to order take-out than to hand bake three pizzas? Did I really even think about this in the first place? So, I wondered how I could spread the message to these teens about food and healthy eating habits without sounding preachy or uncool?
Not only that, but I also began to question just how many of these boys might even have an inkling of where the pizza ingredients themselves come from--Just who are the cows that produce milk for the cheese and where are the grains cultivated that are converted into the flour for the crust? And what about those tomatoes--Are they even grown this time of year? Or better yet, just how much energy and resources actually go into producing not one, but all three of these very pizzas that were quickly vanishing before my very eyes?
Believe me, it was hard for a lover of healthy, fresh cuisine like myself to admit that my very own teenager is a part of this scene. My son, the one who has never eaten a jar of factory produced baby food nor any piece of chicken, pork or beef in his 16 years of life--the one who was raised crawling around in the rich, dark soil picking sweet ears of organic corn off the plant and eating them right there on the spot--the one whose name is Grover, which literally means “gardener, or dweller in the grove.” So where does a parent go wrong?
Food is life and life is food: This is really how it has been since the beginning of time. It is a simple fact that without food, most, if not all, living entities on this planet would not exist. Now, each breathing creature obtains their food in a multitude of ways, but it is we humans, who are the ones that have “messed” with Mother Nature in our desire to produce so much food. And there really is an abundance of food on this planet, why are there still so many starving people all over the world?
5 comments:
Yes Lisa,
Having had a group of my son's friends and him here eating at my house in those teen years almost 20 years ago now, I can relate. He too had no canned baby food and has never eaten meat or fish. But there were the years of soda and pizza and candy.
Now he lives in Detroit and his wife is working on a project documenting the over 1200 urban gardens there. All those empty city lots and the folks need to produce food. There are discussions among the gardeners about possible remediation of toxics in the soil
I love this blog. Keep it coming.
Yay, Lisa! THIS is a blog I'll be interested in reading. Healthy eating has long been one of my key interests (and challenges).
With two boys of my own (10 & 13), I can definitely relate when you say, "How has my very own family become so used to this great American convenience? We aren’t supposed to be like everybody else because I know better!" I have been only marginally successful at steering my children's eating habits in a healthy direction. "How can that be? They can only eat the food you put on the table!" Such a struggle this has been. They'd rather fix themselves a PB&J sandwich than eat most of the delicious healthy food I put in front of them.
Then the question becomes whether to "force" them to eat what is being served for dinner. Personally, I have given up. Sometimes this means there are 3 different meals fixed for dinner (with them making their own), but at least there aren't arguments, tears and distress every night at meal time.
I highly recommend a book called "The Pleasure Trap" by Lisle and Goldhamer. The authors (from Sonoma County in fact) describe in this book the reasons why we continue to be slaves to what has become the typical American diet of processed food. Essentially, these foods act on our bodies exactly the same way addictive drugs do.
"Embedded into the genes of every human and very complex animal who ever lived is a motivation system with a three-part mechanism that encourages us to (1) seek pleasure, (2) avoid pain, and (3) conserve energy. Collectively, we call these three components the motivational triad."
"We have become ingenious at inventing magic buttons, each of which is its own potential pleasure trap. Recreational drugs, fast foods, television, modern medicine, the electric light bulb, and the glorification of casual sex and gambling are powerful features of our societal landscape that can be deceptively dangerous.
Today, we consume far too much high-fat, high-calorie animal and processed food products. Yet these unhealthy products TASTE GREAT. Their artificial allure disguises an important truth: we were not designed by nature for a high-fat, high-animal-content, processed food diet. After thousands of generations where people spent their lives struggling to get enough to eat, we now sabotage ourselves by getting too much. Our modern diet—excessive in fat, protein, and refined carbohydrates—is the primary cause of disease and disability within industrialized civilizations."
It's a fabulous book.
Awesome read Lisa,It is very tough to be aware of everything.Living in Sonoma County makes it easier but there is always room for improvment huh?
Hi there. My neighbor, Carolien, directed me to your blog. I thought that I'd throw out some "food for thought" on the matter...
One of the things strikes me about our culture's (I use the term 'culture' generically referring to the U.S. mainstream understanding that 'culture' is much more complex that I may seem to be suggesting) eating is that, as you stated, there is very little understanding about the origins of the food we ingest. But I feel that this is not limited to just food but also to other aspects of our lives. We tend not to value understanding other people, history, self. Perhaps we are just too busy for reflection. Maybe there is an element of entitlement in our ridiculously wealthy society that has created a decline in gratitude for the basics. The tendency for ethnocentrism that is common in the U.S. does not allow us to be adequately informed about how the world really works. Mainstream America asks for and receives the intimate details of the personal struggles of pop stars and heiresses, but precious little on the life or death crises that occur daily for billions across our planet. The high value that we place on the individual over the collective feeds this tendency and the cost of our ignorance is immeasurable. How we eat is a symptom, in my opinion, of the larger social problem that pervades our culture. Wow. That sounds pretty soapboxy...sorry.
Here's a good book to read on the topic of food:
"In Defense of Food" by Michael Pollan
Thanks for the forum.
Kristie Jo
What a pleasure to once again connect with you Lisa. We miss you and Grover, and the interesting conversations....I can relate to the teen thing, and have to admit that I struggle with the whole food preparation thing. I am thrilled that organic comes frozen and even at BJ's! I try to balance my guilt by conserving energy in other ways. Of course you know that one must really search out the organic and green community here in Miami! I do get a share of organic veggies and fruit in a local co-op, (pinelands, hahah). The struggle is then to get them used before they go bad. That is the essence of my struggle with a family that never eats together because of our schedules! L do love the blog.will be back!
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