[Sca-cooks] pates, spreads - modern processed/altered foods

[mls]

There's a relatively new (2000 or 2001) book that addresses current food
processing, butchering on a mass scale, etc.  It is very readable, although
scary.  Called, _Fast Food Nation_ by Eric Schlosser.  There is an article
by him, on the same topic as the book which can be found at
http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/interviews/ba2000-12-14.htm

On this topic, I was wondering where feast stewards purchase the bulk foods
for their creations?  Farmers' Markets, Sam's Club, a local grocery store, a
chain grocery, grow their own?  and the meat?  and Why there?  price,
organic....?  I've been thinking about this a lot lately, not only with
respect to what/where I buy stuff for daily consumption, but a lot with
respect to making period food....is it the final dish that is 'period', the
process as well, the ingredients, etc?

serena

From: Philippa Alderton <phlip_u at yahoo.com>
Sent: Thursday, 31 January, 2002 11:04 AM
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Numbers, pates, and spreads...

 >      I was under the impression the margarine
> "spreads" are so called because of an increased
> water content. ..........
>
> Yeah, that's part of what I find very irritating about
> the entire "modern tastes" thought train.
>
> Aside from my personal irritation about the incredible
> amounts of sugar and salt that are used to imitate and
> substitute for real flavor, modern folks insist on
> renaming things in order to sell them to an ignorant
> public. We went through that with the Hellman's Real
> mayonnaise lawsuit, and things have been going
> downhill ever since.
>
> For example, bean curd has become Tofu, squid is now
> calimari, as we've been mentioning, liverwurst is now
> pate', and the margarine........
>
> It's all part of a grand conspiracy to disguise
> realities from ourselves.

> But, we're developing into a society which insists on
> wrapping itself in cotton batting, because if we can't
> see it, it won't hurt us....