Summer Salad and Eating Organic

Tuesday night I left yoga before shavasena to catch an encore showing of Food Fight at Film Streams. When the movie got out, it was 8 p.m. Plus after staring at delicious food for a little over an hour, I was hungry. Yet feeling bad about eating highly-processed food from a mega-farm that is actually some derivative of corn or soy instead of vegetables or grains shipped from the nether reaches of the globe. Blah blah blah. Yes, Food Fight is one of those granola movies that highlights the growing trend toward eating organic, natural foods. What I loved about the movie wasn't so much that it was about buying food that hasn't been treated with pesticides or hormones or that hasn't been genetically modified or whatever because that stuff is bad. It was about buying food that has been raised the old-fashioned way because it tastes better and is better for you. I often think about how many people I hear who don't like tomatoes, and I guarantee it's because they haven't ever had good tomatoes. I went home and made a salad with at least half of the produce from the "big-bad" farms. But to make myself feel better, I trimmed some pansies (edible flowers) from my sad little window planter of greens, as well as a few basil and parsley leaves. Topped with blueberries, mushrooms, feta and almonds that have been chilling in my fridge for a while, this salad was mighty tasty--organic or no. For those in Omaha who missed the two screenings of Food Fight (really, a fascinating look at why and how our food production got to where it is today without being mean-spirited), Food Inc. will be showing at Film Streams starting July 31.