Thin=Unhealthy?

[bikerz]

I have really enjoyed reading Barbara Ehrenreich's book 'Nickel & Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America' and found her insight into the working-poor life extremely enlightening. In particular, I appreciated how she described her relation to cooking and food when she was working two jobs or just crazy hours, and how constituting a base for eating well (getting the basic ingredients that actually make what you cook taste like something, buying fresh fruits and produce, etc.) was expensive or plain difficult.

That book made a huge impact on me too. I used to live in a kind of down and out neighborhood in oakland, and there were no grocery stores within walking distance. I was lucky enough at the time to have a somewhat reliable car, but many of my neighbors were on the bus, and the only places to buy groceries without making a long excursion out of it were the mom-and-pop liquor stores on every corner. Not much in the way of seasonal produce there, but plenty of inexpensive junk food.

I live in a different neighborhood now, and I went to my local farmers market Sunday - the produce was beautiful, varied, organic - all good stuff. But I had forgotten my wallet - all I had was $5 in my pocket and I literally could not buy enough for a meal. It was definitely the opposite extreme!

In some ways, a healthy lifestyle is sort of luxury now. It's like the way being tan used to be bad - it meant you worked outdoors. Then tan was good, because it meant you had leisure time to bask in the sun at some beach.

It is our responsibility as individuals to take care of ourselves, eat and live with care. But it is also our responsibility as individuals to work towards healthier cities and lives for all by getting involved as citizens for better cities and societies where resources of all sorts are more accessible to all, not just in principle but in fact.

Very well said!