Welcome to My Blog!

“Eaters must understand, how we eat determines how the world is used.” – Barbara Kingsolver

Eating. It’s such a routine part of our daily lives that we don’t stop to consider its importance. We can eat whatever we want, whenever we want. All we have to do is go to the grocery store to find all the foods of the world at our disposal. Rarely do we stop to consider where those fruits, vegetables, and spices came from. A group of people was once asked what they perceived to be the biggest difference between 1900 and 2000. If a man from the year 1900 time traveled one hundred years into the future, what would most astonish him about today? The usual answers cropped up: cars, computers, television, microwave ovens, the Internet. One person, however, had a different response. He said food. Did you know that black pepper only grows in India? Yet, all over the world, every dining table has a salt-and-pepper shaker. A hundred years ago, having imported produce on the dinner table indicated great wealth. Only the richest families could afford Today, the ordinary middle-class American kitchen contains produce from all four corners of the world.

This blog is about what we eat, the origins of our food, and its impact on our environment and our lives. It’s a place to share recipes and food-inspired musings. While I do not claim to be an expert on sustainable agriculture/living, it’s a topic that has increasingly consumed my time, my thoughts, and my library here in Paraguay. Many of these blogs will be reactions to books I’ve read or documentaries I’ve watched pertaining to food. My aims are to make more accessible the statistics, the information, and most importantly the ramifications discussed by the experts. If you find yourself wondering about the origin of those bananas you bought at the supermarket or the ingredients in your favorite brand of cereal or asking what exactly maltodextrin is, then I’ll know that I’ve put you on the right track. My hope is to create a world of conscientious eaters.