Summary

After a frankly conservative amount of follow-up, the boys get right to the topic: FOOD. Matt has a philosophy. Jody has a burrito.

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Fake Follow Up:

• Jody has been sick recently and apologizes for any coughing or hoarseness, becuase...
• This episode of ALYT takes place in Matt's back-yard (featuring a newly resurfaced deck, birdsong, sirens, a lurking/silent guest, and a thriving potted parsley plant).
• PLOS One, the open-access scientific journal that the boys have mentioned a couple times, is taking steps toward Jody's anti-file-drawer model. See here for more.
  • As Jody said, Elsevier is still making money too.

Topic: FOOD

• We’ve talked about food before, most directly on the Kids Show(s), regarding Jody's anxiety around feeding one. But there’s a lot more to deal with here. Everyone (literally) is weird about food. Matt has his “ethicurean” tendencies which he began following after seeing Food Inc. Jody's partner is a vegan(?). Matt's partner won’t eat Indian food.
  
  • Correction: Jody's spouse is vegetarian and has been for most of her life, but her parents still manage to forget that she doesn’t eat meat
• Matt: I’ve been weird about even talking about this stuff in the past, and gotten mad at my partner for bring it up in public. When I’m meeting a new family member for the first time I don’t want the one thing that they know about me to be that I’m weird about meat. I’ve often posed as vegetarian to avoid the conversation about ethicureanism (at work, for instance, they all think I’m veg.).
  
  • Jody: does this embarrass you as a public subject?...I could understand if you’re tired of repeating yourself or people don’t quite get it. it seems like a safe enough topic for any occasion though...more interesting than the weather and more relatable than sportsball
• On the topic of eating ethically:
  • Organics: ideology vs fact in the quest for ethical foods
    • Matt's current favorite “Lunch Technologies” are organic products, even though he knows this doesn’t mean what he wishes it did.
    • Matt made some claims about organics. Here's some evidence:
      
      • Organics aren't healthier
      • Some "organic" methods (which allow the application of the profitable "Certified Organic" lable) are actually worse for the environment and possibly for people than those used by conventional farming. Here is a well-referenced blog post on the subject over at Scientific American. Check the references, the science is solid.
  • The naturalistic fallacy, and fearmongering over chemicals in food.

What we didn't get to (FU for next time):

• The Anti-GMO nonsense, which is most popular with the people Matt would otherwise agree with on food issues.
  • The anti-Monsanto narrative
    • Valid concerns over monoculture: Here is a new blog post on the subject. Check out the DOOMSDAY VAULT
• The larger point about how emotional this can all get (especially on the internets)
• What we actually buy and cook. How we like to cook
• Where we eat out. Favorites and why we like them. How we eat when in NOLA. How flexible are Matt's ethics??
• Things Jody keeps wondering about (practical components?)
  • how often should i expect to go to the grocery store?...i’m not a great shopper by any means, but if you’re buying fresh/healthy items then they don’t keep very long.
    • xkcd regarding grocery cycle
  • how to meal-plan without getting too repetitive
  • keeping food, cooking food, cleaning up process usually seems too slow (easier to get burrito)...is it worth it?