You Are Not What You Eat but What You Eat Eats

Being an Engineer when I first read the statement, “You are not what you eat but what you eat eats”, in Dan Barber’s book “The Third Plate”.  The first thought that came to my mind was something I learned in college, the Conservation of Energy.  I want to start this discussion off with a crash course in physics.  The Conservation of Energy states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed; it is merely transferred from one form to another.  Applying this concept to the food you eat you it can then be said that your body is not made from what you eat but from what you eat eats.  Expanding this out on a grander scale it can be said that everything that you have eaten, everything that you have eaten has eaten, and everything that you have eaten has eaten has eaten has eaten, and so on makes you who you are.

This chain of energy can be traced from the soil from which plants grow in all the way to our bodies in the same way you can follow the food chain.   This is true in reference to fruits, vegetables, and grains that we ingest or animals that we consume.  Everything down the chain of us makes it way to our bodies.

Now think of the last meal that you ate?  Do you have any clue as to where any of the food in that meal actually came from?  We will concern ourselves with every cent on our pay checks but we never concern ourselves with what we are putting into our bodies on a daily basis, me included.  My last meal was a Caprese Salad that I made with some blackened chicken, the Creole Caprese (recipe can be found here) .  The meal consisted of Creole tomatoes that I purchased from a fruit stand out in the country near where I work, organic chicken thighs basil and mozzarella from Whole Foods, and a blackening seasoning that I make myself.  So of all the ingredients that went into this salad I can trace one back to its original source.  Even the blackening seasoning that I make (recipe can be found here) consists of ingredients that I have no clue on how they made it to my table.

But that’s the society that we live in and really how wrong is it?  The FDA sets standards that food production companies have to follow to ensure “safe” and “healthy” food is provided to us.  So we can trust that the food that we eat on a daily basis is good for us right?  That’s the great question and one that has me now perplexed.  What are we eating on a daily basis?  How many bites are we taking that are empty of any nutrition and simply pass through our bodies from mouth to the toilet without doing us any good?  How can we reduce the number of bites and at the same time increase the amount of nutrition that we are consuming?  If your body are really a composition of everything down the food chain of you that then what is your body really made of?

I may continue this thought later on in future posts.  I don’t know if this long burning lantern that has gone off in my head and will continue to light my way on my culinary adventure or if it is merely an idea that will burn out as quick as a match.  Either way I am happy that I was able to share this with y’all.

As always thank you for taking a few moments from your day to read over my blog.  Feedback and comments are always welcome and appreciated.

Have a blessed day,

Ben