Food is our fundamental need. Eating out and fast-food has become a necessary evil for most urban dwellers. And where there is fast food, there’s McDonald’s. In a country in like India, and I am sure in many other countries, the crescendo of cultural invasion is not far behind. And then there are the logical arguments about the cost and the resources required to get that food to the table.
In Age of Innocence, Jay Raner looks into all these factors and opines that for some countries like UK, getting a imported food from US might actually be more economical and eco-friendly than raising beef in the UK.
Best Food Writing 2014
Editor: Holly Hughes Pages: 400 pages Publisher: Da Capo Lifelong Books; 2014 edition (October 14, 2014) ISBN-10: 0738217913, 978-0738217918
But just as America might be changing the world, it is changing too. Kate Krader of Food & Wine talks about the strong flavors of Asia and the Mediterranean that have invaded the American taste buds, in Are Big Flavors Destroying the American Palate?
Barry Estabrook highlights the possibilities of tainted, contaminated foods in the supermarket shelves as he discusses the five foods that he will not eat or buy. And that is not the only serious topic related to food. Eli Saslow from Washington Post looks at the $80 million food stamps program in the US as she narrates Tiara’s story.
But not all the topics and essays are gloomy or address social issues. In The Flavor Man, Laura Traxel narrates the story of Kevin Scheuring. Scheuring is a mobile retailer of spices and fresh herbs in Cleaveland and very passionate and particular about spices. He is a locavore who imports exotic spices from all corners of the world.
Best Food Writing 2014 is a leisurely read for a food lover, who will see different, important and some fun sides of the food industry. A collection that will give the reader a grasp of what has been happening in 2014 in the Food universe.