I was reading today and this quote caught my eye. It basically sums up what my research is all about. Michael Pollan is the author of several food related books and I admire his holistic take on the problems of the western diet and the world's focus on 'Nutrition-ism'.
This quote is from 'In Defence of Food' (Penguin Books, 2008):
"...I no longer think it is possible to separate our bodily health from the health of the environment from which we eat or the environment in which we eat or, for that matter, from the health of our general outlook about food (and health). If my explorations of the food chain have taught me anything, it's that it is a food chain, and all the links in it are in fact linked: the health of the soil to the health of the food culture in which we eat them to the health of the eater, in body as well as mind.
He goes on to say:
"Food consists not just of piles of chemicals; it also compromises a set of social and ecological relationships, reaching back to the land and outward to other people."
I couldn't have said it better myself!
The interest to me, as a designer, are those connections that tie it all together and how to design for them (or with them if they are existing).
Anyway, I highly recommend the book as well as Omnivores Dilemma and The Botany of Desire (although not as food related, it is a great read).
