E. B. Klassen
Recent Activity
E. B. Klassen commented on How is the Internet changing the world of food? on June 10, 2008, 7:10 AM
I would suggest that the internet, while a great source of recipes, does not really encourage us to think about what we are eating. We may be more willing to try a novel food, but that isn't the same as thinking about food. As Michael Pollan points out in his books Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food, we have been forcibly separated from the natural world of food, and no longer have any real idea what to eat. To be told "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." suggests that we are so removed from the world and what food is really about that we might as well be machines. Considering the way the industrial food machine force-feeds us, we probably are. An excellent starting point for re-thinking life with food is not online, but in a book: The Hundred Mile Diet by Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon. There is a website (http://100milediet.org), but it is no where near as rich as the book. Essentially, the couple try to live for a year on food that is available within 100 miles of where they live (Vancouver, Canada). Start now by taking two minutes to think about where the food you have eaten today came from; it is likely that you have no idea. Read the ingredients list on any container in your pantry. Are any of the listed ingredients food? Are you sure? Pollan says that we can't even trust what our parents fed us--we have to go back to our grandparents. If they would recognize something as food, then you can probably eat it. The internet isn't going to re-connect you with food. To do that, you actually have to get up and go outside. to a farmer's market, to a roadside stand, to a store that retails local food (and how rare is that?). So get up, get out there, and start paying attention.
E. B. Klassen commented on The CTF doesn't issue tax receipts for donations. Kind of ironic? on April 6, 2008, 11:10 AM
Ironic? Yes. Big Idea? Uhm, not so much....
E. B. Klassen commented on Quebec's independance? on April 6, 2008, 11:09 AM
The separation of Quebec is only partly my concern. In a democratic state, it is always the ruled who have the choice of how they will be ruled. Clear question, clear majority, good luck to you all. Just keep in mind that all smaller communities reserve the same right for themselves.Quebec separation freaks out English Canada (or TROC--the Rest Of Canada) because it calls into question our myths about the country and how perfect our union is. Think about a couple in a relationship where one guy wants a divorce and the other guy thought the marriage was perfect. there's the same shock, the same disbelief, the same outrage at the questioning of the basic premise; the marriage is sound, damnit! But, of course, in both cases it isn't/wasn't.
E. B. Klassen commented on A Canadian Worldview on April 6, 2008, 11:01 AM
The majority of our differences come from our ruling elites rather than the bulk of individuals. Now that the Harper Conservatives/Rogers family are allied with groups like PNAC and others, the number of ideas available for democratic discussion are being restricted here in Canada as well. But as to the original question--"Do Americans sufficiently respect Canadians?"--the answer is no. Not because Canada or Canadian ideas are (by virtue of not being Statesian) not worth respect (although that is often true), but because the vast majority of Statesians are scarcely aware that Canada exists. It should be noted that this blindness is encouraged because it also helps to restrict the number of new ideas coming into the culture.
E. B. Klassen commented on How is the Internet changing the world of food? on June 10, 2008, 11:10 AM
I would suggest that the internet, while a great source of recipes, does not really encourage us to think about what we are eating. We may be more willing to try a novel food, but that isn't the same as thinking about food.As Michael Pollan points out in his books Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food, we have been forcibly separated from the natural world of food, and no longer have any real idea what to eat. To be told "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." suggests that we are so removed from the world and what food is really about that we might as well be machines. Considering the way the industrial food machine force-feeds us, we probably are.An excellent starting point for re-thinking life with food is not online, but in a book: The Hundred Mile Diet by Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon. There is a website (http://100milediet.org), but it is no where near as rich as the book. Essentially, the couple try to live for a year on food that is available within 100 miles of where they live (Vancouver, Canada). Start now by taking two minutes to think about where the food you have eaten today came from; it is likely that you have no idea. Read the ingredients list on any container in your pantry. Are any of the listed ingredients food? Are you sure?Pollan says that we can't even trust what our parents fed us--we have to go back to our grandparents. If they would recognize something as food, then you can probably eat it. The internet isn't going to re-connect you with food. To do that, you actually have to get up and go outside. to a farmer's market, to a roadside stand, to a store that retails local food (and how rare is that?). So get up, get out there, and start paying attention.