Mark Bittman: "Chop, Fry, Boil: Eating for One, or 6 Billion"

Mark Bittman, who writes a weekly recipe for The New York Times food section, also occasionally writes opinion pieces about the way we eat.

Two weekends ago he wrote a great article, "Chop, Fry, Boil: Eating for One, or 6 Billion," that I agree with wholeheartedly. Here are the first two paragraphs:

“Revolutionary” diet books flood the market this time of year, promising a life changed permanently and for the better — yes, in just 10 to 30 days! — but, as everyone knows, the key to eating better begins with a diet of real food.

The problem is, real food is cooked by real people — you! — and real people are cooking less than ever before. We know why people don’t cook, or at least we think we do: they’re busy; they find “convenience” and restaurant foods more accessible than foods they cook themselves; they (incorrectly) believe that ready-to-eat foods are less expensive than those they cook themselves; they live in so-called food deserts and lack access to real food; and they were never taught to cook by their parents, making the trend self-perpetuating.

Click here to read the entire article and Bittman's thoughts on the above.