Some of you may be aware that certain restaurants are now legally required to provide the nutritional information for their offerings to their clientele. Now you can see exactly how many grams of saturated fat those scrumptious French fries have, and as for that fabulous burger, well that too shall hide no caloric secrets from you. The reason behind this is to help people make better food choices, as far too great a proportion of our population is obese, and that, in turn, leads to increased health care costs for everyone, trim and not so trim alike.

Now, while I am in favor of this, my mister is not. He thinks people should be more responsible for their food consumption on their own--that restaurants should not have to inform their patrons how sodium and fat riddled are their meals. While it is true that people OUGHT to employ common sense and will power when it comes to their food (and their waistlines), it is also true that many do not, and anything that makes people at least think twice before stuffing some fat laden treat into their mouths has got to have some merit.

What do you think? Does this mandate remove personal responsibility or does it help people make better choices?

More (MIS) Adventures in Samson Land

Some of you may recall a few weeks back that there was a race for the senate seat in Massachusetts. The republican candidate emerged victorious. Well, my sister-in-law posted a comment on her Facebook page that basically said the people of Massachusetts were brainless fools. Several other of her Facebook friends posted like comments condemning the people of this aforementioned state as heartless followers intent on dooming our nation. Well, I posted a little comment saying that maybe it really didn't have so much to do with being a democrat or a republican so much as it did with being an independent thinker--and people were voting based on individual candidate's merits as opposed to what their party affiliation was.

Soon, though, I found a message in my inbox from my brother. Evidently my sister-in-law took such umbrage at a dissenting view that she felt the need to UNFRIEND me, and my brother decided to take me task for discussing politics in a public arena (Wendy, if you want to disagree with Erika, the kitchen is the proper place) and demanding an apology for hurting her feelings (I would desist and apologize for making trouble).

WELL, seeing as how she was the one to bring up politics ON FACEBOOK, which is hardly a private space, and how all I did was express a politely dissenting view, I declined to proffer this apology.

However, I remain UNFRIENDED and have no desire to submit a pathetic little friend request to Erika. But what does she think? That she will never need to speak to me again? She's married to my brother! The mother of my niece! Is she not going to talk to me when I call to wish this little niece a happy birthday? Will she forgo dinner when I come out to visit? How should I behave when I interact with her?

It's Only Fair

Seeing as how I asked all of you firsties to tell me your New Year's resolutions, it's only fair that I tell you mine. As I indicated on some of your papers, mine is food oriented. I've always kind of known that the way animals in food the human food chain are treated is not exactly humane, but after reading some books--The Ominvore's Dilemma, Fast Food Nation, Chew on This, In Defense of Food--and watching the movie Food, Inc., I really just can't close my eyes and dip into that ever so delectable of foods, orange chicken, with the same elan. Seeing those conveyer belts with baby chicks, the routine deprivation of light and space for these animals, the inappropriate food provided them, the way they have to basically live in their feces--all of this has made me reevaluate my relationship with the food I consume.

And it's not just the way the animals who are slaughtered for food are treated, but the ones who produce other products I so dearly love--eggs, dairy, ICE CREAM... I want these animals who produce the milk in my coffee to graze on grass instead of the corn and other feed that they are not naturally meant to consume. I want them to experience fresh air and the ability to turn around without becoming stuck in poop.

And so, my immediate resolution is to forgo all meat and poultry from here on out, and all my dairy must be cruelty free, which means the cows producing my milk and sour cream and cheese must be pasture-raised, and I have an ice cream maker so that I can make my own tasty frozen treats from cows that enjoyed space and air and fresh greens.

Hopefully the resolution will stick!

Report Cards...

Perhaps you don't realize it, but we teachers are also subject to grueling deadlines, never more so than when report cards loom over us. It takes HOURS to compose articulate snippets that convey the essence of a student, and sometimes we wonder how much time and thought you all put into reading and processing them. Do you focus more on the actual letter grade and ignore our description? What about your parents? Would you prefer to receive just a letter grade? How would you feel about just receiving a narrative without the grade? What are your thoughts on this entire process of grading and evaluating?

It's a Big World Out There

Whether or not you agree with American soldiers fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq and all the other places they go, the very fact they go in support of American ideals is a beautiful thing--because what our country represents is indeed beautiful. I have no qualms about saying the United States is among the most noble of countries, if not the most noble.

And think about those soldiers who willingly leave behind their families, their homes, their comfort in the name of freedom. How hard it must be to sustain faith at such a distance.

So take a moment and click on the link below and say a little thank you!

http://www.letssaythanks.com/Home1024.html

Smellin' the Petrichor

Now that we've had our first real rain of the year, we can all breathe in the glory of the petrichor. For those of you unfortunate enough not to know the meaning of this truly remarkable word, allow me to enlighten you. Petrichor is the smell of the earth after it rains. How cool is that! If there's one thing your English teacher likes, it's a super specific word.

What are the most delectably specific words you adore?

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3261/2587231576_637bc8278b.jpg

Gastronomical Musings on Food and Font

http://kalman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/26/back-to-the-land/?8dpc

So I saw this photo essay in the New York Times this day after Thanksgiving morn, having just recovered from my 6 hours preparing a feast for my mister and Henny, and it struck me in several ways.

First, despite my yearning for French fries and the autonomic response I have to dessert and various fast foods, I do believe Michael Pollan's creed: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly produce. In one of his books he also says to be wary of foods with more than five ingredients... Something I always weigh internally as my eager little fingers grasp Ben and Jerry's Coffee Heath Bar Crunch ice cream.

I also love the simplicity of the imagery and the way the font--both upper and lower case--complement the essay. Think about it. Remove the photos and you've just got a discussion on how we all eat. Make the font all Times New Roman and standardize the spacing, and you've made it even more generic. Still well written and informative, but not alive.

While in some instances a picture is worth a thousand words, here, it is the combination that elevates both into a higher realm.

I know most of you have little control over the comestibles placed in front of you, but how much do you think about the food you consume--how it's prepared, how the animals who make up that food live (or lived...), how it arrives at your table (and I'm not just talking about the trip from supermarket to home here!)