There are all kinds of literacy—cultural literacy, health literacy, financial literacy—and this month we celebrate food literacy. Which is, as defined by Nourish, “Understanding the story of our food from farm to table, and back to the soil.” And, as with any type of literacy, the way to raise literate adults is to start with kids!
If you’re free, we’re hosting a fantastic program this Thursday, called “Cultivating Readers”. It’s aiming at getting kids to know more about, and to love, their food. It will start off with a Food Fair (Exhibitors! Giveaways! Yum!) and continue with ideas from Trudi Inslee (our state’s First Lady), local food celebrities, and children’s authors. It will be a food fest! And there are some wonderful displays to visit as you wander the Central Library.
For parents, there is much to think about when trying to create healthy meals and habits. Here are some titles which will give you food for thought:
Read It Before You Eat It extols the importance of getting comfortable with food labels. There are some shockers out there (did you know that the first ingredient in Red Vines is corn syrup?) and it isn’t hard to make a switch to something more healthy when you know what you’re dealing with!
Delving even more into the labeling arena, Organic: A Journalist’s Quest to Discover the Truth Behind Food Labeling aims squarely at our love of food that is supposedly carefully and lovingly produced. Except that now that marketers know we love it, they are using the label “organic” in creative ways that might not be so palatable.
And, what is one possible end point of knowing so much? Wanting to know more! In Unprocessed: My City-dwelling Year of Reclaiming Real Food, Megan Kimble relates her year without processed food, and the many things she learned along the path towards eating only real food. Even for those of us who don’t want to go that far, there is some amazing information here.
And last but not least, where there is desire and money, there are politics. To which Marion Nestle, who Michael Pollan named one of the most powerful foodies in America, is no stranger. The great thing about Eat Drink Vote, though, is that it is told in cartoons! Talk about palatable! The information goes down as smoothly as fig sorbet.
Posted by Ann G.
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