A Bone to Pick

April 20, 2015
Bittman (How to Cook Everything Fast) compiles pieces primarily written during the past four years (from the New York Times and the Times Sunday Magazine) in this overview of contemporary food-related concerns. Eschewing chronological presentation, Bittman groups the essays under six headings: “Big Ag,” “Sustainability and What’s in Between,” “What’s Wrong with Meat,” “What Is Food and What Is Not,” “The Truth About Diet(s),” “The Broken Food Chain,” and “Legislating and Labeling.” Bittman covers a variety of issues; though a well-known cookbook author, he’s also a reporter who often gets out of the kitchen. His travels take him to Sacramento Valley (to see a “big tomato operation”), pig farms in Iowa, and a food bank in Rhode Island. Bittman has far more than one “bone to pick,” lecturing on cruelty to farm animals, the use of antibiotics and pesticides, worker rights, the dangers of added sugar, and insufficient government oversight, to name just a few. His complaints about what he calls a “broken” food system are consistently balanced with viable solutions; his resounding message (“eat real food”) is simple enough, and supports his overall goal of human health and agricultural sustainability. Bittman’s compelling essays are a call to action and a reminder to readers that the future of food—and of the planet—is in their own hands.

March 15, 2015
When a book begins with an essay titled "A Food Manifesto for the Future," you know the author is on a mission. Food writer Bittman's (How to Cook Everything Fast, 2014, etc.) collection of previously published New York Times articles deftly deconstructs how America's reliance on fossil fuels, the cruel mass production of animals, and an overuse of hyperprocessed junk foods have created a food system in tatters and left many Americans sick. Regular readers of the Times will know Bittman's work. However, by gathering the articles into a complete narrative, the compilation provides an all-inclusive look at the author's findings across a range of topics. For those readers unfamiliar with Bittman's knowledge of the issues, it makes grasping a multifaceted subject less daunting. Moreover, if at times the author repeats some points, it matters little compared to the importance of the information. Written between 2008 and 2014, the articles are arranged topically rather than chronologically. This structure allows readers to grasp the evolution of issues such as the sustainability (or not) of big agriculture; the issues surrounding the production and consumption of meat; what constitutes real food; dieting; the various ways America's food chain fails its citizens; and how legislation and labeling affect what we eat. Bittman bolsters his conclusions with the voices of numerous scientists, and he calls out big pharma and industrialized agriculture for the use of antibiotics in meat. He also scolds the food industry for its workers' low wages. The author's keen analysis of the weakness of the Food and Drug Administration and its failures regarding food safety proves especially informative and enraging. Bittman successfully links a sound food system not just to the tastes of foodies (a word the author dislikes), but also to larger public health issues. An intelligent rallying cry for anyone seeking a safe and healthy food supply, and all that entails.

May 1, 2015
Most people recognize Bittman as the author of encyclopedic cookbooks, but he also serves as general food columnist at the New York Times. There he's devoted a lot of space to encouraging serious conversation about America's (and the world's) need for a new approach to agriculture and food policy. Bringing together Bittman's columns from the past three years of his tenure makes his arguments clearer and more compelling. Bittman starts with the premise that food ought to taste good, but he places that in a larger context. Visiting California's central valley, he witnesses both the depredations of industrial-scale agriculture and the ways some farmers are trying to raise crops more efficiently and with an eye to husbanding resources for future generations' benefit. Bittman also scrutinizes consumers and faults them for overreliance on sugar and meat in their less-than-healthy lifestyles. And he bemoans a public too often manipulated by advertising and by misleading scientific studies.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)