So I like Michael Pollan, and I like his writing voice. This book promises to be a lot of fun, and very informative. For any who want some more background on Pollan, here isa video clip where he and Hugh Grant (no, not that one) discuss some of these issues. Grant is the head of …
Homeopathic Poison
Michael Pollan was one of those interviewed for Food, Inc., and while I differ with the whole project, he really seemed to me to be among the sane ones. Couple that with the fact that his book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, is well spoken of, I thought I should do a series of posts reacting to …
Phood Pharisaism
Those who have been following these posts on food have often seen me qualify and set boundaries to what I have been saying. Such qualifications are necessary and good, and so here comes another one. Put this one in the categories of two different prepositions — at and for. Who are these posts aimed at, …
Like a Scolded Cat
All systems of thought have terms of praise and blame. In the world of the new food, a central term of praise is the word natural. It is only natural, therefore, that we take a look at it. A particular food is described as “natural,” or perhaps even “all-natural.” We all know enough to know …
Way More Leafy Greens
D.L Moody once said that if you throw a rock into a pack of stray dogs, the one that yelps is the one that got hit. In a similar vein, the wicked flee when no man pursues (Prov. 28:1). When I attack the trends that are conspiring to introduce food laws into the Church, and …
Some Real Examples Are Every Bit as Crazy
So that no one will think I am writing about them in particular, let me make an example up. And let us also be honest. If I had not told you that I was making it up, you would have had to google it to find out. These are difficult days in which to be …
Getting a Post Hoc Post Doc
Among the informal logical fallacies, one of the most common is called the post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy. Translated it means “after this, therefore because of this.” B follows A, and it is therefore assumed that A must have been the cause of B. This fallacy is so prevalent that it could easily be …
Foodstuffs
As you know, I have been writing a great deal about foodstuffs. Now Peter Leithart has provided some bedrock to build on. Check it out here.
Just the Right Amount of Me
Last night I had the privilege of participating in a good discussion about “food issues” with a number of men. That discussion was wide-ranging, so there will be no attempt to reproduce it here. But it did jog me in a couple of areas, and you are about to read the results of that. First, …
Since the Time of Rutherford B. Hayes
C.S. Lewis noted in his essay on the reading of old books that one of the great blessings of doing so is that it gets you out of your chronological provincialism. When you are stuck in your small town mentality, small differences are magnified and treated as though they were everything. But when you get …