18.10.09

Food for Thought

A large percentage of my reading time is devoted to my love for fiction, but I do try to intersperse a fair amount of non-fiction, and most of that is generally food related. No surprise there. Here are a couple of recent reads that I really enjoyed.



In this travelogue-style reader, fellow Texan Robb Walsh explores the oft misunderstood nature of oysters in a world tour that left me with a serious craving and a lot of new information about one of the most eco-friendly and fabled foodstuffs.




Austinite James E. McWilliams' tome takes an interesting look at our current food system, from organic to the industrialized farm. He proposes a 'golden mean' of food production for the future that does its best to recognize the pros and cons from both sides of this very important and impassioned debate.

1 comment:

TexasDeb said...

On a mostly unrelated note - love the way the color scheme of the two covers work together.

Recently saw a shot of Walsh with a collectible oyster plate somebody had gifted him with. I think a lot of folks fail to appreciate the role oysters at least used to play in Gulf Coast cuisine.

As to the golden mean theory - this is a book I am looking to read. I realize I am not disciplined enough to eat ONLY what is produced 1 to 500 miles from where I live. Life is too short and I am too hungry for several nonlocal favorites. That said I do hope not to be TOO responsible for the demise of civilization as we know it so I'll be happy to find any responsible middle ground.