How Would You Like Your "Fresh"? On Film, or In Print?

As I've noted before, food is much on my mind, thanks to the book I'm writing (a history of meat in America). And in that line, "fresh" is the word of the day, week, month.

As part of my research (in this case, secondary rather than primary), I'm reading Susanne Freidberg's new book Fresh: A Perishable History, a sweeping survey of the history of the modern idea (and technology) of "fresh" foods in the U.S. and Europe, using meat, fruit, eggs, vegetables, and so forth as her case studies.

The book is a remarkable accomplishment, given its scope and scale. I can tell you from considerable personal experience that it's not easy to distill so much information into a digestible form and make it accessible to a general audience. But she's pulled it off. Five thumbs up.

Also "fresh" at the moment is a film by that name, by director Ana Sofia Joanes.  Unlike the other new "food" film, "Food, Inc.," which is, I gather, an expose of corporate food practices, "Fresh" documents the work of people around the country who are trying to re-think and re-imagine our food system. (Or again, so I gather: I've not seen either film, and only know this much from looking at the websites for both films.)

Anyway, as I noted a few days back (or maybe a few weeks?), food: it's everywhere you wanna be!

Tip o' the mug, by the way, to Zachary Cohen, who alerted me to Freidberg's book.