…So cooking matters — a lot. Which when you think about it, should come as no surprise. When we let corporations do the cooking, they’re bound to go heavy on sugar, [...]]]> The need for more home cooking has been a basic ingredient of The Food Movement for a while now. Here’s Michael Pollan on the subject:

…So cooking matters — a lot. Which when you think about it, should come as no surprise. When we let corporations do the cooking, they’re bound to go heavy on sugar, fat and salt; these are three tastes we’re hard-wired to like, which happen to be dirt cheap to add and do a good job masking the shortcomings of processed food. [NYT July 29, 2009]

Many discussions on the subject of the great North American food problem—what you might call crappiness in the midst of plenty—have ended with the observation that what is most wrong with food on this continent is food culture. Food isn’t loved, respected, honored or enjoyed the way it is in many other cultures. Americans are notable for their eat-to-live outlook on life: zipping past drive-throughs in microseconds, stuffing the gob with the left hand while the right hand feverishly works the mouse button, and just generally dosing up on cheap calories as quickly as possible before getting back to their real love: work and money. The person who invents the intravenous cheeseburger might just have a hit.

So it hasn’t escaped the notice of the food-politics set that fundamental change must be accompanied by a change in personal habits, specifically, by a resurgence in home cooking. As my interest in all things food related has increased over the years, I’ve changed many habits. I definitely cook more. I’m a much more informed shopper, and I know I get better value for my grocery dollar as a result. I haven’t bought Coke in years. The Egg McMuffin holds no real temptation for me anymore, not even when I’m hungover. Food politics has made me a happier, healthier person.

Having said all that, I had a very busy week last week, and I noticed myself returning to the grazing, insta-meal behavior of old. I was doing work that required a lot of concentration and I just didn’t feel as though I could afford to step away for an hour in the middle of the day to make myself some “real food.” This got me thinking about fundamentals. If it’s become a foundation of food reform that we need to start by doing more home cooking, than the bedrock under it must be less busyness.

We must love work less. We must not allow business culture to trump food culture.

Corporate types should set the example. The next time somebody in your office suggests a working lunch, or a short lunch, or, God forbid, skipping lunch altogether, consider it your moral duty to look at them with horror and disgust, as if they had just let out a really loud fart. Politely inform them that you would never under any circumstances be distracted from the leisurely consumption of your home-prepared meal in a nearby green space. Arch a brow, snort derisively, and just walk away.

It will take a generation of small acts and subtle shifts in personal priorities, but with patience we will get there.