Since the publication of Rod Dreher's Crunchy Cons, food—where it comes from, how it is grown, and how you eat it—has risen in the ranks of items that draw conservatives' interest.

Recently, The American Conservative ran an issue devoted to this crunchy subject, the object of books published usually by writers and scholars on the Left. Under the almost too-clever title, "Eating Right: The Case of Culinary Conservatism," a number of authors tackle the moral conundrums involved in middle-aisle grocery shopping, urban agriculture, and farmer's market small talk.

More seriously, it is a sign of the growing strength of the traditionalist branch of the conservative movement that it is expanding its concerns to include issues like the cultivation of local food markets and the protection of the environment. As Ross Douthat has recently noted, such a focus on non-overtly political matters lends substance and integrity to the traditionalist conservative movement's commitment to the preservation of culture over a narrowly-focused mission to reform government policy.

John Schwenkler, a contributor also to these pages, had these reflections to contribute to the discussion:

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The proposal, put slightly differently, is that our attitudes toward food—which nourishes and sustains us, which binds us most fundamentally to place, family, market, and community—provide a measure of our respect for what Russell Kirk called the “Permanent Things.” We are not just what we eat but how we eat. The cultivation and consumption of our meals are activities as distinctively human as walking, talking, loving, and praying. Learning to regard the meal not merely as something that fills our bellies and helps us grow, but as the consummate exercise of beings carnal and earthbound yet upwardly and outwardly drawn, is a crucial step in the restoration of culture. The suggestion that the inculcation of such values might be an essential part of an adequate education ought to resonate beyond the confines of the doctrinaire Left.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Samantha Clark,

There are so many eating styles these days--from extreme gourmet pursuits to a friend's recent elimination of gluten from her diet to an extent that forbids her to eat a substance that has been stirred with a spoon or cut with a knife that has had any recent contact with a gluten-bearing substance. These "food styles" are possible only with abundant varieties and quantities of food and relative wealth, as well as technology and transport.

What is "sustainable," anyway? Life is not sustainable for a diabetic without insulin. Daily orange juice consumption is sustainable, I suppose, since it's been done by so many for so long. Do we have a duty to eat local? In many ways the quest for consumer goods sparked the exploration of the New World.

Wow, lots of things to think about! Thanks!

There's been more talk about food in the news lately. Sanford Ikeda, economist at NYU-Purchase, writes on Chicago's recent bid to join the crusade against unhealthy eating, along the lines of L.A.'s ban on fast food.

The libertarians among us are logically offended that a municipal council could presume to regulate such intimate details as one's dinner selection, as appears to be the case in both stories. The L.A. ban seems particular open to criticism in that it appears to be a band-aid on a much more deep-seated problem having more to do with family life in South Los Angeles than it does with the trans-fat in a hamburger. In Chicago, by way of contrast, the concern is not so much with what people are eating as the treatment of the animals about to be eaten. Both elements—the healthfulness of the food you consume, and the conscientious treatment of the animals raised to be food—are part of the debate on the moral obligations involved in eating and in stewarding the environment. Perhaps, however, attention should be directed less at the presumption of city councils than at the social realities that surround, in some cases, the fast-food industry and at the policies and behaviors that drive current farming practices.

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Eating Right

I love that idea -- and your Boston Terrier, too!! I had a Boston Terrier when I was a kid. He was so smart, and would do anything I asked him. I still have a picture of him riding my tricycle! : )

Back to the oats -- I've been having oatmeal for breakfast the last couple of weeks, and I mix in a spoonful of ground flaxseed, ground nuts, and blueberries, along with cinnamon and soy protein powder. Oats are so versatile.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Big Brother,

Yo Im a barbarian. I like my meat off the bone and I also cant cook. But what I want to know is how do I eat right without being fed chemicals, antibiotics, gasses, and everything. How do I avoid fast food. How do I avoid the major meat distributors?

Lookin for some help so my son and I can live like Ringo Starr when were 70.


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