Food for Thought
I am in a serenely happy state of mind, like I just
came out of a long aromatic bath in an oversized tub.
I am out the warm soapy water, have slipped into a
comfortable shirt and pajamas and am ready to drift
into a restful sleep. :)
There are a lot of things I learnt over the last few days that have brought me here.
Very recently, I read Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser and a few books by Michael Pollan - In Defense of Food, Omnivore’s Dilemma and bits and pieces of The Botany of Desire. I then watched a film version of The Botany of Desire, followed by Food Inc, which features Pollan and Schlosser, and Super Size Me.
They all speak of what goes into the food we eat, where they come from, and how they affect our lives from every point of view that you can think of … imagine the good, bad and the ugly played out in a socio/political/economic/ethical/scientific/cultural/nutritional scenario with regards to food (!) The Botany of Desire even describes how human desires affect the plant life from the plants point of view. It takes examples of apples, tulip, marijuana, and potatoes to show us how these species have adapted over centuries to different environments all over world by manifesting themselves in hundreds of varieties that cater to our ever-changing desires of taste, beauty and experiences. What you take home from these books and films is an aspiration to contemplate our food choices in a less monotone way…
Tapi and I watch a lot of Food and Travel shows (apart from million other shows that keep us glued to the tube). The latest season of Top Chef was especially stimulating. It brought in some really gifted chefs who inspired a great deal of respect for the art. I speak especially of the four finalists who transformed the show from competition to purely display of talent.
This excessive food-related reading and watching is making me wonder if I am addicted to what Anthony Bourdain calls “food porn”. It is an unsettling feeling when your voyeuristic urges are given an unflattering label like that. I also think it simplifies the multitude of other satisfactions I derive from them. The entertainment is not just in the visual appeal or the urge to see talent, but also in the intellectual curiosity it satisfies! ... Am I saying I am a "food porn" addict and more?
Over the weekend I watched all ten episodes of “The Life of Mammals”. I don’t know how to talk about it without feeling like in saying more I am saying less. The dominant emotion I felt while watching the series was that of astonishment. I saw myself asking if these mammals really exist on this planet! If humans are the inferior mammal—if we are a much tinier blip in this series of blips in the universe than we thought we were. Moreover, within each episode Attenborough hurdles from continent to continent like a little girl hopping from one box to another on her chalk-drawn hopscotch court on the sidewalk! One minute he is inside a dark cave full of flesh eating maggots filming hibernating bats, and right after that he is hanging hundreds of feet above ground on a thin rope tied to a tall tree in a dense forest. And he does all that without looking muscly and athletic, but as strange as a flightless bird taking to the air with ease! His enthusiasm to share his discoveries is endearing and inspiring.
I thought The Life of Mammals was a revelation until I saw Attenborough in Paradise.
In early 19th century, Alfred Russel Wallace wrote a book called The Malay Archipelago about his first sighting of the birds of paradise. In it, he describes these birds as “the most beautiful, and most wonderful living things on the planet”, with illustrations of creatures of astounding beauty with structural features and plumage beyond anything imaginable. His description of the birds inspired an ambition in Attenborough to find them, only, there was little scientific evidence of their existence. Over the years, the birds of paradise took on an almost-mythical status, and were mostly talked about in speculation of what they may have looked like based on hearsay of local tribes or illustrations of artists. Many were even thought to be extinct. But, after six decades since reading the book, and trying to find them several times, Attenborough finally manages to fulfill his ambition through this film. What you see in this film is not just beauty, but a miraculous marvel that extends beyond the aesthetic! Their unique and elaborate courtship rituals, and their ability to impress their mates through careful planning is otherworldly!
Between the Botany of Desire that speaks of how plants take advantage of human desire to perpetuate themselves, and Attenborough in Paradise that looks at beautiful creatures living spectacular lives without the knowledge of humans, I have to wonder where we fit in this overall picture… Clearly we are looking less and less like we are in control of our environment and more and more like the environment is in control of us… and also like not everything on earth is made purely for our enjoyment. There seems to be beauty even where we cannot see it. Now, how does that sit with our swollen ego!
With that thought in mind, I am off to bed after that long, warm aromatic bath in my tub!
There are a lot of things I learnt over the last few days that have brought me here.
Very recently, I read Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser and a few books by Michael Pollan - In Defense of Food, Omnivore’s Dilemma and bits and pieces of The Botany of Desire. I then watched a film version of The Botany of Desire, followed by Food Inc, which features Pollan and Schlosser, and Super Size Me.
They all speak of what goes into the food we eat, where they come from, and how they affect our lives from every point of view that you can think of … imagine the good, bad and the ugly played out in a socio/political/economic/ethical/scientific/cultural/nutritional scenario with regards to food (!) The Botany of Desire even describes how human desires affect the plant life from the plants point of view. It takes examples of apples, tulip, marijuana, and potatoes to show us how these species have adapted over centuries to different environments all over world by manifesting themselves in hundreds of varieties that cater to our ever-changing desires of taste, beauty and experiences. What you take home from these books and films is an aspiration to contemplate our food choices in a less monotone way…
Tapi and I watch a lot of Food and Travel shows (apart from million other shows that keep us glued to the tube). The latest season of Top Chef was especially stimulating. It brought in some really gifted chefs who inspired a great deal of respect for the art. I speak especially of the four finalists who transformed the show from competition to purely display of talent.
This excessive food-related reading and watching is making me wonder if I am addicted to what Anthony Bourdain calls “food porn”. It is an unsettling feeling when your voyeuristic urges are given an unflattering label like that. I also think it simplifies the multitude of other satisfactions I derive from them. The entertainment is not just in the visual appeal or the urge to see talent, but also in the intellectual curiosity it satisfies! ... Am I saying I am a "food porn" addict and more?
Over the weekend I watched all ten episodes of “The Life of Mammals”. I don’t know how to talk about it without feeling like in saying more I am saying less. The dominant emotion I felt while watching the series was that of astonishment. I saw myself asking if these mammals really exist on this planet! If humans are the inferior mammal—if we are a much tinier blip in this series of blips in the universe than we thought we were. Moreover, within each episode Attenborough hurdles from continent to continent like a little girl hopping from one box to another on her chalk-drawn hopscotch court on the sidewalk! One minute he is inside a dark cave full of flesh eating maggots filming hibernating bats, and right after that he is hanging hundreds of feet above ground on a thin rope tied to a tall tree in a dense forest. And he does all that without looking muscly and athletic, but as strange as a flightless bird taking to the air with ease! His enthusiasm to share his discoveries is endearing and inspiring.
I thought The Life of Mammals was a revelation until I saw Attenborough in Paradise.
In early 19th century, Alfred Russel Wallace wrote a book called The Malay Archipelago about his first sighting of the birds of paradise. In it, he describes these birds as “the most beautiful, and most wonderful living things on the planet”, with illustrations of creatures of astounding beauty with structural features and plumage beyond anything imaginable. His description of the birds inspired an ambition in Attenborough to find them, only, there was little scientific evidence of their existence. Over the years, the birds of paradise took on an almost-mythical status, and were mostly talked about in speculation of what they may have looked like based on hearsay of local tribes or illustrations of artists. Many were even thought to be extinct. But, after six decades since reading the book, and trying to find them several times, Attenborough finally manages to fulfill his ambition through this film. What you see in this film is not just beauty, but a miraculous marvel that extends beyond the aesthetic! Their unique and elaborate courtship rituals, and their ability to impress their mates through careful planning is otherworldly!
Between the Botany of Desire that speaks of how plants take advantage of human desire to perpetuate themselves, and Attenborough in Paradise that looks at beautiful creatures living spectacular lives without the knowledge of humans, I have to wonder where we fit in this overall picture… Clearly we are looking less and less like we are in control of our environment and more and more like the environment is in control of us… and also like not everything on earth is made purely for our enjoyment. There seems to be beauty even where we cannot see it. Now, how does that sit with our swollen ego!
With that thought in mind, I am off to bed after that long, warm aromatic bath in my tub!
