Gastroporn Redux

For breakfast, I usually have a cappuccino—espresso made in an Alessi pot and mixed with organic milk, which has been gently heated and hand-fluffed by my husband. I eat two slices of imported cheese—Dutch Parrano, the label says, “the hippest cheese in New York” (no joke)—on homemade bread with butter. I am what you might call a food snob. My nutritionist neighbor drinks a protein shake while her 5-year-old son eats quinoa porridge sweetened with applesauce and laced with kale flakes. She is what you might call a health nut. On a recent morning, my neighbor’s friend Alexandra Ferguson sipped politically correct Nicaraguan coffee in her comfy kitchen while her two young boys chose from among an assortment of organic cereals.

A cover article in this week's Newsweek purports to be about the class divide vis-à-vis food consumption, but in a sad way is really about the relationship of marketers and muddled thinking. The self adulation of some of the respondents, who's immoderation is redefined as respect for the planet and desire to nurture something or another, is one of the reasons that a certain class of twit isn't taken seriously by anyone outside of salespeople. (or in our case, the Mayor's office) The attitudinal baggage and cultural blindspot that accompanies a proposal to tax soda or any casse-croûte du jour, for the "health of our community", is just typical. (we know what‘s best for you)

Even the locavore hero Pollan agrees. “Essentially,” he says, “we have a system where wealthy farmers feed the poor crap and poor farmers feed the wealthy high-quality food.”

This being said, the new Congress is going to start work on the next farm bill. Between the traditional hot air (family farms, golden waves of grain, the real America) and the ceremonial larding of the pork, not to mention the sausage making in the back room, I suspect we'll be singing new boss, same as the old boss. Last time around, I remember a story about a well known newsreader / commentator who received big bucks for the Angora wool produced by the sheep on his hobby farm. (national security - military helmet liners) Monsanto, some folks on the Upper East side, and Archer Daniels Midland should be up for a chunk too. Personally I think the biggest food problem concerns whatever hallucinogen they're adulterating the water with in Washington.

• Quick cooking note for the above nutritionist neighbor: Put the kale flakes in the soup, not your kid’s cereal.