SCPL Online NonFiction Book Club discussion

Gay begins Chapter 65 saying, “Food, itself, is complicated for me”. She discusses her experiences with fad diets, fake junk food, fasting, meal planning services and meal kits. As a person who lives alone, Gay struggles with feeling like cooking is often “a pain in the ass” and that meals can be “complicated ordeals rather than daily, sustaining rituals” (p. 225-226). How would you describe your own relationship with food? Do you also find it complicated? Or do you take pleasure in meal planning and cooking?

What do you make of our society’s obsession with “fad diets”? Right now, it appears the Keto diet is the latest big thing, but my understanding is that Keto shares some similarities with other trendy diets, such as Paleo and Atkins. Here at the Library, our shelves are literally overflowing with books on everything from the Dukan to South Beach, gluten-free to raw food diets. Have you tried any of these diets? If so, what has your experience been like? Do you think any of these diets are healthy or sustainable?

Gay talks about using services such as Fresh 20 and Blue Apron, but the convenience of these services can come at a very high price point. Eating a vegan or organic diet can also be cost-prohibitive. In general, buying real, fresh food is most often far more expensive than pre-packaged, processed meals. Therefore, I wonder: what are your thoughts on the concept of food privilege?

I hate cooking. In my home, my partner does a lot of the cooking, and left to my own devices, I eat what is easy and convenient. I try to make sure that easy and convenient is (somewhat) healthy, but that is not always the case.

I think people do the best they can with food in the situations they are in. As Gay says, we don't know what is going on behind the scenes, why people eat the way we eat.

Jamie Oliver has been in the news recently about wanting to have a tax on junk food, but he has faced a lot of flack for that because like you said, fresh food is sometimes cost prohibitive. The people who buy junk food, like Gay, like myself, know the stuff is junk and yet...we eat it because its easy, is cheap, or whatever other reason people have - isn't fed best?

I forgot to talk about diets. At the end of the day, these fad diets are a demonstration of society's need for an easy fix - we all know these diets don't work over the long-haul. We all know they are incredibly restrictive and at the end of the day, society sets itself up to fail, so the next diet comes and makes its money. Its a cycle, a merry-go round that few people ever get off of.

Hello again, Lillian. I can certainly relate to having a partner (aren't we lucky!) who does the cooking. When I lived alone, I am not ashamed to admit that there were nights where cereal or cheese and crackers were on the menu for dinner.

I love that you brought up England's sugar tax, because this was something I was actually not previously aware of! I'm not sure how I feel about that, and I am curious to hear what others think. I mean, if fresh food is more expensive, I don't see that adding to the cost of junk really helps those with limited income. It seems like a lose-lose in that sense.

That being said, I'm not sure I totally agree that people who buy junk ALWAYS know that it's junk. I mean, no one buys a bag of chips for the health benefits, but there are also a lot of products out there that are cleverly marketing themselves as being "healthy" that are really just processed, pre-packaged crap. I will admit that growing up, I ate a lot of pre-packaged junk, takeout, and pop, and that I really didn't know until I moved out and started buying my own groceries how bad some of the stuff I was consuming really was. And then, after moving in with someone who knew more about food and cooked from scratch, I feel like I learned even more.

When it comes to babies being bottle vs. breast fed, I definitely agree that "fed is best", but I'm not so sure when it comes to junk food vs. real food. I am definitely a fan of things in moderation, that's for sure. I think that better education about nutrition would probably be a better measure than added tax on junk food, but I really do wonder what others think about this? Thank you so much for sharing such an interesting perspective and giving us more food for thought!