Seriously, if I could buy yogurt that had sugar not HfCS in it, I'd consider it a great victory.

Trader Joe's yogurt is made with sugar and inulin, not HFCS. FYI.

Rather more she's in complete disagreement with how the rest of the country lives.

Paycheck to paycheck, in a place where the kitchen is a closet, the garden could be shoehorned into two square feet of window sill, you have other things to do with your life than spend it on the zen of cooking, and you can either buy three day's worth of pure, wholesome, morally correct food or two week's worth of something that will keep people alive and hopefully somewhat satisfied.

I am not saying everyone should eat the way Alice Waters says, but it's not the worst idea. And saying "it's not the way the world is" is like saying that "violence is part of cities, especially inner cities." It's true. But it doesn't, to me, mean we should not strive for something more healthy and sustainable.

I don't think that connie -- or anyone -- saying that Alice Waters comes off as having an unrealistic view of how the majority of Americans live is the same thing as saying that therefore we shouldn't strive to change it.

Moving towards a more healthy and sustainable way of producing/preparing/eating food is a good thing. But it doesn't mean that people living below the poverty line, who have to decide between paying rent, buying medicine, and buying groceries can't feel frustrated at someone who advocates buying organic, free-range, locally grown food and/or having your own garden.

I think it's frustrating as hell, and I'm aware that I'm very privileged in that I'm able to basically buy organic, free-range, locally grown food whenever I want.

I guess what I'm saying is yeah, promote a more healthy and sustainable way of producing/preparing/eating food. Do what you can to move towards it. But don't dismiss people for whom it's unrealistic to achieve at this time.

Once upon a time, in my childhood, my mother used to make what we all called "Baptist Brownies" -- which were basically just blonde brownies. My mother used to explain the name as a way of indicating the Baptists didn't know what was good (i.e., more chocolate is always better) but the real reason was this was short-hand for the fact that the recipe was in the cookbook she had bought from the Baptist church fundraiser.

So, I lived in Berkeley 4 blocks from Chez Panisse, and while I think it's true that Alice suffers from being out of touch with real people and what it's like to raise a family on 40K, I know that because she raised the issues and the bar around Berkeley that it is possible to make better choices there more cheaply than it is here in the DC area. She raised the consciousness in people, and the demand for local produce. Even without using her label choices, we had better things available to us for less money than we have to pay here for them.

Oatmeal:

This morning I came in to work to find a message from one of our part-time librarians. He wants to respond to some personnel issues that I discussed with him . . . in September 2007 and March of 2008.

Happy Freakin' Monday!

TCG just scored some girl scout cookies from work!

This morning I came in to work to find a message from one of our part-time librarians. He wants to respond to some personnel issues that I discussed with him . . . in September 2007 and March of 2008.

What the heck?

I'm reading and nodding along with the Alice Waters conversation. We have tried to cut down on packaged food, and I am very much looking forward to the farmer's market opening in the next month or so. It's wonderful to be able to talk to the people that grow the food.

Moving towards a more healthy and sustainable way of producing/preparing/eating food is a good thing. But it doesn't mean that people living below the poverty line, who have to decide between paying rent, buying medicine, and buying groceries can't feel frustrated at someone who advocates buying organic, free-range, locally grown food and/or having your own garden.

I totally agree with this, but last year I was also happy to see that our farmer's market was accepting food stamps to try to encourage people to use them for healthier products.

Our state food subsidy is now allowing people to buy food plants to encourage people to grow more food.

last year I was also happy to see that our farmer's market was accepting food stamps to try to encourage people to use them for healthier products.

Well, that's what I mean when I say "moving towards...is a good thing." That's a great idea.

It's just that, until we reach a point where the system is changed enough that everyone of every income level can afford organic, locally grown food, I can't fault someone for saying it's unrealistic for them.

It's just that, until we reach a point where the system is changed enough that everyone of every income level can afford organic, locally grown food, I can't fault someone for saying it's unrealistic for them.

I totally agree with you on that point.

Our state food subsidy is now allowing people to buy food plants to encourage people to grow more food.

This? Awesome. And completely unimaginable a few years ago.

This morning I came in to work to find a message from one of our part-time librarians. He wants to respond to some personnel issues that I discussed with him . . . in September 2007 and March of 2008.

It could be his inbox is over IT's limit, and he's found some things he forgot about as he's been archiving emails.

Not that I've ever done anything like that. (Seriously, I haven't—I run over the inbox size limit after a few months, not a year or more.)

It could be his inbox is over IT's limit, and he's found some things he forgot about as he's been archiving emails.

Oh, I wish it were that easy to explain. But he's responded several times to the students' complaints, both to me and to the Big Boss. He wants to change our minds, and it's just not going to happen.