By The Way I See It

GINTA: Food was never meant to be this challenging to deal with

Jan 21, 2019 | 1:22 PM

THERE’S BARELY A WEEK going by without another set of recommendations on the best foods to eat, best diets to lose weight, best way to exercise, and best ways to live our lives or raise our kids. The funny thing is, it’s a déjà vu with many of these.

Eat less sugar, exercise more, let your kids have free play during the day… many of us would remember our parents and grandparents telling us that. Sometimes we listened, sometimes we did not. That was then, and I dare say it is a loss to us all when our predecessors’ knowledge is not integrated in our present life but buried and forgotten.

I am not denying the scientific discoveries that advance our present knowledge. There are some truly amazing discoveries out there in the realm of health and nutrition, but in terms of everyday sustainable diets, I subscribe to what writer Michael Pollan said in his book The Omnivore’s Dilemma (Penguin Books, 2007): “Eat food, not too much. Mostly plants.” Almost impossible to contest.

Since the beginning of the year, less than a month ago, two food-concerning reports stood out: one about what to eat that is good for us humans and for the environment (yes, another one) and the other about how much food we waste in Canada. Again, ditto.

I was surprised at the number of angry and disbelieving reactions out following the first report. Eat less red meat and less dairy, and more plant-based foods, the report said. For many, that comes as close to invitation to quarrel as possible. Why should anyone tell us what to eat and how much to eat?

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True, why would they? By now, we should all be pretty good at it. Trouble is, we are being told what to eat whether we realize it or not.

The marketing wizards of the food industry have been at it for a long time but we may not see it for what it is because, well, that is the magic of advertisement. We sail through diets regularly and go from loving to hating certain foods in no time. (It’s been extended to pets, too!) There is an excess of everything and making choices has become more of a gargantuan task than ever before.

Much like with everything else in life, keeping it simple does the trick. Eating healthy helps the planet if the food is mostly grown locally, and eating healthy means first of all, eating enough but never to full. Eating with the seasons, which means we temporarily let go of preferences. Many of our predecessors lived through tough times, when food was often scarce. They had less of everything which means they made use of everything as much as they could and for as long as they could.

Which brings me to the second report, on the amount of food wasted in Canada: more than half of what is produced! As much as we love food, we are afraid of it. Best before dates scare us, and yet it is highly ironic that often times foods well ahead of ‘best before date’ are the ones making people sick. That is the result of producing tons of food in the cheapest possible way. Mass-produced food may be cheap, but that enables more wasting.

Report or no report, we have to make friends with food again — sustainably so. We have to treasure it enough to not throw it out. The imperfect veggies and fruit sold for less may reduce waste but they also remind of why they exist: because we expect perfect.

With too many people going hungry in Canada, and way too many sickened by too much — often highly processed — food, the two reports put together can be a powerful call to action. A challenge of sorts: eat less for better health and waste little. Buy local and clean, including some meat and dairy if they are what keep you rolling at full speed. All of that takes pounds off and adds years. Plus, it puts nature back together (where industrial agriculture damages, that is).

Cook more, eat together and teach your kids the goodness of homegrown food – from home and local farmers.

It’s not rocket science but going back to ‘eat to live’ instead of ‘live to eat’. It’s where we were once.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.