Nutrition vs. Processed Food

Michele Simon recently wrote an article for alternet.org about the challenges facing Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" initiative to fight obesity. One of the biggest players in the Food Industry (PepsiCo) was first to claim support of the initiative and is looking for ways to make processed food "healthier." Simon sums up their dilemma:

"The company's problem comes down to this: PepsiCo makes processed food, which is no basis for proper diet in any culture. Nature provides true nourishment in the form of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, and no corporate mantra can improve on that."

The complete article (here) details how PepsiCo's product lines are divided into three categories ranging from, "Good–for–you" to "Better–for–you" to "Fun–for–you." All in all, a compelling argument for the home cooked meal.

The Food Movement, Rising - Michael Pollan, NY Review of Books

We were foodies long before we became fans of Guardian Service Ware or "waterless cooking" techniques, but much of what attracted us to the heirloom cookware line was the reduced energy consumption of food production and increased retention of nutrition and flavor, topics explored in a recent essay by Michael Pollan (The Food Movement, Rising, New York Review of Books, June 10, 2010).

Pollan presents an excellent overview of the Food Movement from the 1970s to the present and addresses the ways in which the industrialization of food has effected our health, culture, politics and environment and have given rise to a variety of food movements from organic, sustainable and urban farming to slow food, local food, animal welfare, etc.:

"Food is invisible no longer and, in light of the mounting costs we’ve incurred by ignoring it, it is likely to demand much more of our attention in the future, as eaters, parents, and citizens."

Getty Images

Michelle Obama at a farmers’ market near the White House, September 17, 2009

LA Times Guardian Service Article

This month's "Lost L.A." article in the Los Angeles Times is devoted to Guardian Service Ware. Writes Sam Watters:

Cooking right meant protecting your family's health. With memories of the food-starved 1930s, modern Americans had malnutrition on their minds. Century Metalcraft capitalized on the national anxiety and published moralizing ads in home magazines warning mothers they were duty-bound to preserve the vitamins lost in "thoughtless, ignorant, outdated cooking." For side column endorsements, the company hired food guru Adelle Davis, a founder of California cooking, synonymous today with Alice Waters and her followers who promote holistic meals made with fresh, organic foods.

A biochemist graduate from UC Berkeley, Davis launched a 30-year career in 1947 with her landmark book, "Let's Cook It Right." She defined the well-organized kitchen, suggested menus and, like First Lady Michelle Obama, warned against high-calorie, low-nutrition diets. A waterless method, promoted by Guardian Service as unique to their glass-topped caldrons, was essential for preparing healthy meals the Davis way.

The Times also posted photos of additional Vintage Guardian Service Ads from our collection.

Tonight's dinner (and our next blog, this time for sure): Chicken Schnitzel, a recipe adapted for Guardian Service from a traditional Weiner Schnitzel recipe in Lüchow's German Cookbook, Jan Mitchell, 1952.