a personal manifesto

Good food at home. Mostly plants. Simple. Seasonal. Sustainable.

That’s how I approach food.

Eating mostly whole and minimally processed foods in season might seem like a recent fad, but it’s been the way we’ve stayed healthy for most of human history.

The real passing trend is the explosion of ultra-processed “foods” and fresh produce marketed and sold completely out of season.

Why?

It’s just more profitable for the big guys that way. Trouble is, it’s terrible for your health and for the planet, it is eroding communities and erasing cultures, and it has (and will continue to) destroy local business and economies.

If you eat a lot of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and foods out of season, don’t feel bad. I did too. That’s how our systems are set up. The powerful corporations responsible for it love to point to individual responsibility, but how can so many individuals be collectively making the same choices that are harmful to them if not for the systems and environments in which they live in and cannot escape?

My background is in public health. I advocate for system change, for policy change, for population-level change. We need to reimagine the rules and structures of the places (physical and otherwise) in which we exist and operate if we want real and better choices for people who just want to do the right things for themselves, their families, and their communities (equitable access to healthy food is one thing… don’t get me started on affordable, fair and efficient public transportation, urban design, and (sub)urban housing).

These changes take time. They require vision and integrity from our leaders. They rely on the engagement, involvement and support of the people these very leaders are supposed to serve. They depend on us. On me. On you.

Until then, and while we work on these issues: what’s for dinner?

What’s ultra-processed and what’s not? What’s in season? Where should I shop? What do I buy? How do I cook and eat these things that I just bought so that they taste nice and so that I don’t end up wasting them?

These are all questions I dealt with when I first started. I’m proud to said that, these days, I’ve mostly gotten the hang of things (though I am happy to always be learning and open to sharing that process with anyone who wishes to observe).

As with good food and wise knowledge, sharing is caring — and that’s what I’m here to do.

Welcome. Glad to see you here. I hope you’ll come along for the food and stay for the adventure.