Eating Sand...

This is a review from Amazon:

And things have only gotten worse. When this book came out, you might have found a fast food restaurant or two that actually used a grill and had a knife in the kitchen. Never trust a food establishment that doesn't own a knife. Or uses a microwave to create their dishes.

This is an excellent book. As can be told by the number of reviews, a real tour-de-force: this is the book that made Michael Pollan possible. This is the book that confirmed that the hippies were right.

But has it had the proper impact? Reading the last chapter, I wonder. First off, Herman Cain (who is currently running for President) is in trouble for his relationships with women. He should be in more trouble for his relationship with the National Restaurant Association. The NRA (must those initials always epitomize evil?) has been lobbying on behalf of the beheamoth Fast Food Industry for eighty years. Their membership includes every Fast Food/Moderately Priced Corporate Food Chain that has created an American restaurant culture that has all the taste and satisfaction of eating sand. Herman Cain is, essentially, a lobbyist for Fast Food. Can you imagine a lobbyist for the Sierra Club being taken seriously as a Presidential candidate?

Again, this book is excellent. The right book at the right time. I do wish the author would have included a critique of the loss of local, food culture that has been destroyed by these peddlers of corporate cuisine. I've had better food on the backroads of Central America, inexpensive, nutritious, than I have had at the local mall. For a rich country we have very poor food. We need an alternative to the Fast Food culture. I wish the author did more to explore the alternatives.

Other than that, a most wonderful read---even after ten years of being on the shelf.