Do Sweat the Small Stuff Rant

While reading "Do Sweat the Small Stuff," written by Mark Bittman, I was slightly conflicted. I suppose it would have helped to know that he is a food journalist prior to reading because when he was talking about going to a book signing to talking about food, I had no idea where he was getting his words from. Also, for some odd reason, I read his article in the voice of David Foster Wallace as he gave his "This is Water" speech that we read earlier in the semester.

I really understand where Bittman comes from when he says, "the more difficult the question, the shorter the answer." It's so hard to answer a question that takes a lot of thought without spending too much time on that question. Just like when people ask me what I plan on doing after I graduate, I could talk for hours about what medical school I plan on attending, and how I'm still on the fence about becoming an osteopedic surgeon or a forensic pathologist. I may even talk about the difficulties about choosing an M.D. or D.O. However, I normally just say I'm going to be a doctor and end it there. I'd much rather prefer to be asked things like, do you feel prepared for med school? or, do you have any specific graduate schools in mind? That way I can narrow my response down to one specific subject.

As for changing the food system, I also believe it is going to take a long time and be a hard battle. Changing our relationship with food is what is going to be the change. We cannot blame McDonald's for obesity, especially child obesity, because we are the ones who are buying their food and allowing them to stay in business. GMOs are bring in money, but we can stay away by eating organic. It's simpler to change the way we eat than to change the way food is regulated, and it is far more efficient.