Mark Bittman and the politics of food

[Anna N]

 Among other things Mark Bittman thinks libraries and post offices should be distribution centers for fresh food and that anyone under the age of 16 should be required to produce ID to purchase soda pop. 

 

Here.

[gfweb]

He is more disoriented than I ever suspected. 

 

[IEATRIO]

23 minutes ago, gfweb said:

He is more disoriented than I ever suspected. 

 

 

The implications of Bittman's writings are quite troubling.  He has tremendously authoritarian tendencies, and has little or no respect for people who don't share his values or choices -- and would over rule those choices if he was able.  I'm afraid that there is no shortage of these sorts of attitudes in the food world.

Edited October 10, 2017 by IEATRIO (log)

[Heartsurgeon]

As I have previously stated, Bittman is a culinary Chuck Shumer.

[cakewalk]

45 minutes ago, Heartsurgeon said:

As I have previously stated, Bittman is a culinary Chuck Shumer.

What does this mean?

[gfweb]

57 minutes ago, Heartsurgeon said:

As I have previously stated, Bittman is a culinary Chuck Shumer.

 

Or a Gywnneth Paltrow, perhaps?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, gfweb said:

Or a Gywnneth Paltrow, perhaps?

What does this mean?

 

[gfweb]

7 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

What does this mean?

 

 

Paltrow and Bittmann are of the same stripe re food. Preachy and FOS.

[rotuts]

the sugar issue is easily solved w a tax

 

that method has been studied for years and years and is effective.

 

of course , the tax collected will be wasted , but that's a separate issue.

 

Bittmann frequently ' mails it in '

 

Ive seen this many times on the various PBS cooking shows where he is a guest.

Edited October 10, 2017 by rotuts (log)

[kayb]

He's a bit extreme in his food views, not to mention significantly more authoritarian than I'd like. But his "How To Cook Everything" unlocked the secret to good fried rice for me, as well as a fail-safe pizza dough, and for that I will always be eternally grateful.

 

[liuzhou]

3 hours ago, kayb said:

He's a bit extreme in his food views, not to mention significantly more authoritarian than I'd like. But his "How To Cook Everything" unlocked the secret to good fried rice for me, as well as a fail-safe pizza dough, and for that I will always be eternally grateful.

 

 

I had no idea who you were all talking about until you mentioned "How To Cook Everything". He is pretty much unknown outside the US, so far as I can tell.   Anyway, a friend (American) sent me the ebook version and it lingered on my Kindle unread for months, but one day I decided to consult it to find out how to cook something. It wasn't in the book! Everything? Not by long shot. What an arrogant title!

Then I flicked electronically through it and found some statement to the effect that bacon isn't bacon if it isn't smoked. At that point I threw the Kindle across the room doing it major damage. That's why I can't look up the precise quote! Most bacon in the world is unsmoked. It is bovine excrement to suggest otherwise.

 

Generally, I found him incredibly parochial, but I guess he knows his market. It just doesn't include me.

[Martin Fisher]

Nanny Bittman

Out-of-control control-freak!!!

[IEATRIO]

As an aside, I think a lot of the Bittman recipes from the New York Times just don't work, or are simplified to the point where the results are no longer worth the effort.  That bothers me a lot less than the authoritarian streak.

 

Currently however, I think Anthony Bourdain is giving Bittman a run for his money on the food authoritarian front.  His current crusade -- complete with high minded documentary -- seeks to convince us not only that the world is growing too much food (rather a shockingly stupid proposition), but also seeks to tell us how we should be eating and cooking so as to reduce "waste."  I think that cheap and plentiful food (and these things are directly related) could be humanity's single greatest achievement, and his arguing that we ought to reduce the supply and thereby make it more expensive is gravely misdirected.  But I also don't appreciate his seeking to lecture others and seek to impose his own (rather poorly informed, in my opinion) economic doctrines as well as his aesthetic values and food preferences on others.  Bourdain came to fame as a sort of libertine who rightly clucked at self-appointed anti-pleasure puritans (from Vegetarians to the religious right), but he has now devolved into a celebrity spokesperson for preachy austerity.  As unseemly a spectacle as he has become, he is simply too powerful (sort of a non-rapey Harvey Weinstein of the food world) for anybody to take on.   

 

And don't even get me started on his CNN show.

[heidih]

If you want a serious reality check about food and farming I suggest this article on seed technology as a weapon  https://newrepublic.com/article/122441/corn-wars

Edited October 11, 2017 by heidih (log)

[Thanks for the Crepes]

21 hours ago, heidih said:

If you want a serious reality check about food and farming I suggest this article on seed technology as a weapon  https://newrepublic.com/article/122441/corn-wars

 

 

Yes!

 

I have been afraid of what Monsanto is doing for many years. I hope I will be long gone before they patent, control and corrupt our entire food supply. They have prosecuted American farmers whose non-Monsanto fields have been contaminated with cross pollination from their GMO crops for saving seeds, and sadly, Monsanto wins. This seems unjust and unbelievable, but it is happening. It passes under most people's radar. Who cares about the hayseed small farmer, right? Anyone who eats should! That means you!

 

Our government is coming down strongly on the side of Monsanto's attempt to have a food monopoly. This is scary, and there is evidence that the plants need higher dosages of herbicides as time goes on and the weeds develop resistance. *Shudder*

 

[BeatriceB]

Thanks for the article, heidih! It was fascinating.