whether they’re good for our health, good for others, and good
for the environment; and knowledge of when they’re ripe,
when they’re in season, and what to do with them once they
land on the kitchen counter.
But almost everything else in the store is not food so much
as what author Michael Pollan calls “edible foodlike sub-
stances.” Or a new favorite term of mine, from author Kristin
Lawless, it’s stuff “formerly known as food.” These products
rely on their packaging to speak to us as consumers. Price plays
a key role in our decisions, of course, but so does language.
Processed foods do unfortunately tend to come in cartons
or cans or bags or boxes, but most of them are increasingly
available to buy in bulk or on tap (such as oats and beer) or
to make through DIY kits or online guides (such as pasta and
yogurt). When a food category can be replicated at home, it’s a
telling sign that it’s lower on the processing spectrum, given
that most of us don’t have hydrolyzed soy protein lying around
our spice cabinets or seasoning drums hanging out in the
garage.
It’s not as if all chemicals or additives are automatically
unhealthy. It’s just that in the regulatory environment of the
US food supply, it’s a tall order to remember which ones are
fine and which ones to steer clear of. Beyond the ingredients
list, the challenge is discerning those products that truly are
what you’re looking for from those that are misleading.
Although it’s a helpful general rule, that a product has only
a short list of simple ingredients doesn’t automatically make
it good for you. Think of butter, for example. On the stick, it
might list just one ingredient (for example, “sweet cream”),
but that doesn’t mean it’s healthy. A peanut butter label might
tout “just four ingredients,” when really it should have just one:
peanuts. Maybe a dash of salt. But what are the rest of those
ingredients doing in there? Nutella has ingredients I mostly162 how to be a Conscious EaterConscious Eater_03 PT_4th patches2.indd 162 10/28/19 12:55 PM