It's Still About The Food.

This past Sunday's New York Times Magazine was devoted to the politics of food. The entire issue is a good solid month of informative, thought provoking bathroom reading.

I began with Michael Pollan's article, "Farmer In Chief." Pollan has become one of the authorities on this topic as he's authored a number of best-selling books on the current, mixed-up state of the US food policy. The article is structured as Pollan's letter to our future President-elect and outlines how the key campaign platforms of the economy, the environment, the health of our citizens and our national security cannot be solved if we don't pay attention to our current food system. You'll get the history of how we got here and a recommended proposal of how Mr. Future President could put us on a smarter and more viable path. Give it a try - it's a long read and incredibly relevant to all our lives.

Here's the bottom line (or Pollan's "One Big Idea"): "most of the problems our food system faces today are because of our reliance on fossil fuels, and to the extent that our policies wring the oil out of the system and replace it with the energy of the sun, those policies will simultaneously improve the state of our health, our environment and our security."

Now, I am one who gets a bit antsy when I hear about the horrible state of things, anywhere, without recommendations of how I can fix it. And that's the beauty of this article. Pollan spells out in concrete terms how we can make a difference. For example, if all Americans observed one meatless day each week, this "...would be equivalent, in carbon saved, of taking 20 million midsize sedans off the road for one year." WOW!

Okay, not such a big deal, you may be thinking. I can do veggies and ... Problem is, all you can think to make is tofu or beans. And, to make matters worse, you think tofu is bland (which it is) and beans give you gas (debatable - depends on the technique!). That's where Essen comes into the picture. As of January 2009, at least one Essen Class each month will be 100% vegetarian. We'll call them Fossil-Fuel Busters, or FFBs.

We're already ahead of the game as Essen's cooking philosophy is rooted in sun-based foods, not petroleum. And vegetarian classes are nothing new at Essen. Last year's "Holiday" class featured side dishes and desserts and was totally meat-free. By request, many of you have cooked meatless menus at Create Your Essen experiences. Yet we can all do our part to do even more. So look out for FFBs. They'll show up in all of the Essen Classes designed to meet your needs - Menu-based, Puttin' Up or Create Your Own.