I have just finished "In Defense of Food" by Michael Pollan, and highly recommend it to every Kitchen Caravaner. After reading the book, I feel an even stronger sense of purpose in what Emma and I are doing with our show. The book explains and defends Pollan's beliefs in how people should eat: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." These may seem like very simple statements, but in the United States today, we have to get back to the basics and start from scratch when it comes to nutrition. The fact that he has to even say "eat food" is ridiculous, but the frightening reality is that, as he points out, there are an overwhelmingly large number of food products out there that are not made with anything found in nature. Pollan explains how the overabundance of high fructose corn syrup and soy beans in the American diet are making us sick, and how our food culture also contributes to our ever declining health as a population. His writing is clear and informative, making it a good read for people well versed in the nutritional situation of the U.S., as well as a great manual for those who want to know why they should care that their food is organic (and why organic sometimes isn't everything).

My favorite part of the book explained that we should only eat foods that our great grandmothers would have recognized as being food. I guess that rules out the Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers that I just saw in a commercial on the television. Why on earth do we buy precooked pasta in a plastic container, to then steam it in the microwave? Not only is that an incredible waste of plastic, but it is also ridiculous that now people have the option of not even having to boil water. By the way, in his book, Pollan partially attributes weight gain to the ease of preparation. The quicker it is to cook something in the microwave, the easier it is to eat more of it. We all have to take his advice, and get back into the kitchen, cook our own meals, and get in touch with our food again. Not food products containing high fructose corn syrup or an overdose of sugar or sodium, but real food from the local farmers market.

How good it feels to finally eat at home! Emma and I have been on the road for the past week, and it has been quite difficult eating out for 2-3 meals a day. Although we were quite spoiled at her aunt's house with delicious dinners, the other days were quite rough. The one thing that I have been craving has been simply steamed vegetables, whole grains, and slowly stewed legumes. Last night I was able to eat just that. Steamed flowering kale, plain boiled buckwheat groats, and baked trout. Though the world is full of elaborate meals, great wine, and tempting baked treats, sometimes all I want is plain cooked food to bring me back to my center. I will be working on some recipes later this week, but in the meantime, I am enjoying bringing myself back to a simple balance.

We are proud to announce that our whole grain of the Winter season is buckwheat. Monday evening, Emma and I took off on our long journey to the town of Penn Yan in upstate New York in order to visit the Birkett Mills, producers of Buckwheat and Wheat products. Tuesday morning we filmed an interview with Cliff Orr, V.P. of Marketing and Sales for the Birkett Mills, followed by a tour of the Mills by Plant Supervisor Andrew Schuck. He told us lots of interesting information about the history and nutrition of buckwheat, which will soon be in a video clip for all of you viewers out there.

The Birkett Mills is largest manufacturer of buckwheat products in the world, and is the oldest continuously operated mill in the United States. Buckwheat originated in Tibet, and made its way to Europe via Russia, where it has become a staple food in Jewish culture. It was the Dutch who brought buckwheat over to the United States and planted it in Pennsylvania (Penn Yan = Pennsylvania Yankees). Buckwheat counts in our list of Whole Grains, although it is not a grain at all, but actually a fruit (related to rhubarb). Buckwheat made Dr. Perricone's list of Superfoods for Oprah.com because of its nutritious profile.

Why is buckwheat so healthy? Since buckwheat is actually a plant, it is gluten free, and therefore safe for people with Celiac disease and gluten intolerance. Buckwheat also has a higher amino acid profile than wheat, corn, rice, and oats, making it more powerful when combined with legumes to make a complete protein. Buckwheat stays longer in the digestive tract, which makes you feel full longer, providing you with sustained energy and cushioning against sugar cravings. Recent studies have shown that a carbohydrate found in buckwheat actually lowers blood glucose levels. Cliff was telling us that his uncle, who has adult onset diabetes, started eating 3-4 oz. of buckwheat a day and now does not take his insulin medication. Of course, we all need to do our homework before making any drastic changes, but it shows how nutrition can help shape up many medical problems that our nation is facing today, namely diabetes. Buckwheat is also effective in lowering (bad) cholesterol levels, therefore it is heart healthy as well.

I also wanted to add that Emma is from Pennsylvania and her last name is Burkett, and the Pennsylvanians are the ones that took the buckwheat up north and started the Birkett Mills. Does anyone else think that Emma might have a stronger connection to buckwheat than previously thought?

In Saturday’s New York Times there was a very startling article that will affect everyone’s health, not just people who consider healthy eating a way to a slimmer waistline. The European Food Safety Agency has deemed meat and milk from cloned animals as safe to eat, and if approved by the European Group on Ethics in Science and Technologies advisory panel, such products will soon be arriving on supermarket shelves around Europe. Public opinion throughout Europe is against genetically modified foods, as people prefer natural products. But the people do not really have a fair say in what happens. Furthermore, countries that ban the sale of such products (and there are many who want to) put the entire European Commission at risk of penalized by the World Trade Organization for unfair trade barriers. This is not just a European issue. The United States FDA will also rule on the same issue next month, and we are likely to also see these products approved. With the state that our meat and dairy industries are in now, the last thing we need is to legalize cloned meat and dairy.

The problems with meat and dairy coming from cloned animals are many. One issue is that the report says it is “unlikely” that there is any difference between conventional products and genetically modified products. This is an answer based on short-term observation, who knows what health issues will arise twenty years from now? Another issue is that the Agency’s report admitted to the fact that cloned animals are more prone to diseases than conventionally bred animals. They claim that unhealthy animals will not be used, but who is to know for sure? And what about all of the animals that are cloned, and then die because they have weakened immune systems or are highly deformed? This does not seem humane or ethical to me at all. If these animals have a high chance of being deformed and weak, then why do we want to perfect science to get around it? In my opinion, the answer is not in cloning meat, but making people eat less of it. If everyone ate meat only once or twice a week, not only would their health greatly improve, but so would the environment. Meeting demand for people’s desire for meat is the opposite of what we should be doing; we should be meeting nature’s demand for sustainable living.

The issue of eating seasonally is not just a problem in the United States, it is a global issue. Over New Years, I was in Paris, which I have long regarded as being the bastion of culinary knowledge. I thought that the French only ate cheese from France, bread from the corner bakeshop, ham from the local butcher, etc. I do not mean to say that they are not worldly in their cuisine, because it is quite the opposite. However, I thought that when it came to the basics, the French were picky about where their food comes from.

That is why I was shocked to see that the price of fruit was astronomical, not only in the big supermarkets, but even at the local produce stands. The only ones I could afford to buy were domestic apples. When I took a closer look at the origin of everything, I realized why. Most fruits are from Chile or Argentina, and travel quite a great distance to get to their buyer. On menus, I see things like blueberry tarts and strawberries, both summertime treats. I witnessed a woman buy a 6 Euro mango. It seems that even in France, people are drawn by the exoticism of the fruits and their taste, and disregard their origin, seasonality, and price. When fruit travels so far, there is an incredible waste in energy transporting it. Think about how different it would be if people were eating apples in winter, while they were in season, and waited for blueberries in the summer? There is not much more to say about this issue, but it is something for everyone in the world to take into account.