In the latest season premier of Bourdain's Parts Unknown, President Obama sits down with him in his beloved Vietnam. Check out
this piece in The New Yorker written by a friend of mine. She wends through policy and food and Obama as a hipster. Very timely for us!
It is interesting to read about President Obama's food tendencies, given that most of the media attention regarding food policies in the past few years has been focused on Michelle Obama. After learning more about how President Obama was also very involved in these policies, it is clear that his interest and respect for healthful, trendy, and cultural food has been important in shaping better food systems in our country. These systems are not perfect, but it seems to help to have a "foodie" president to make changes in the country's food industry. Also, his comment about ketchup is very funny! I think ketchup is always acceptable on a hot dog! President Obama is a normal guy, too, and can eat with the best of them, even Anthony Bourdain.
ReplyDeleteI have nothing but respect for the Obama’s and President Obama specifically. The fact that Obama is a foodie makes me appreciate him even more. As Marx describes some of the past President’s eating habits and compares them to President Obama’s there was clear contrast. Perhaps my favorite line from the article was this: “Reagan is remembered for trying to pass off ketchup as a vegetable, and George H. W. Bush used his power to ban broccoli on Air Force One, Obama became the first President to brew craft beer at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.” Such stark contrast between Bush and Reagan only makes Obama look that much better.
ReplyDeleteIn a time where we so often hear about the (alleged) failures and missteps of the Obama Administration and his family, it's refreshing to read something positive. I think few people really understand just how much the President and his wife have really done for our country's food policy. Marx does a great job of explaining this when she explains the improvements they've help make in the transparency between food suppliers/distributers and consumers. Thanks to the efforts of the White House, chain restaurants are now obligated to display nutritional information on their products and soda companies now add calorie counts to the outside of their bottles as well. Apart from her job well done informing her audience of the positives of the Obama Administration, Marx also did a great job reviewing the overall episode of Anthony Bourdain's show, Part's Unknown. I actually watched the season opener myself, and I think she did a great job of summarizing and analyzing all that went on in a very creative way.
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