Jamie Schler‘s latest article on the The Huffington Post, “You are What You Eat: a Food Blogger’s Dilemma,” is a must-read for any serious food blogger.
You might ask, “what is a serious food blogger?” One who has 2 million followers, one who gets a zillion hits a month, one with a goal in mind, such as a book or television show, or is it someone one who encourages healthy eating, who is interested in educating the public and sees it as almost a civic duty? That is a really good question in today’s topsy-turvy world, where famous is not necessarily good or good for you, and on the Internet, anything goes.
As Jenn Oliver, our Culinary Chemist, so rightly pointed out, if we do it with an aim to educating the public and teaching them how to eat properly, we’re up against an infinite number of food blogs that make elaborate cakes and sweets every day.
So are we preaching to the converted? How can we go about distinguishing, high-quality blogs that have a true message and a true interest in helping us improve our eating habits from blogs that get two million hits and make cakes with M&Ms?
In a world full of all sorts of unverified information, we have to be more discriminating than ever, not only in terms of food blogs, but in terms of all the information we read on the Internet. Don’t forget: you can write whatever you want on the Internet. It’s the rare one who checks your facts.
The question then becomes that in the U.S., in particular, where we have strayed so very far from food traditions and traditional cooking, practically the whole population would have to become open to the idea and understand the need for it. Jamie Oliver isn’t always having such an easy go of it. Recently in Britain, where he was working in a school to educate children about how to eat properly, mothers came to the schoolyard to give their children junk food during breaks, demanding their “freedom of choice.” Were they choosing to put their children’s health and even longevity at risk? Some of us might well interpret it that way. But then, if you’re reading this article at all, you’re probably part of the converted, and I need not preach.
I suggest you read Jamie’s article straight away. It reads like poetry, and forces you to ask all the questions you might already have asked, but maybe need to ask again.
Click here to read it.
To read more of Jamie’s work, check out her Destination Dessert column on this site, or her lovely articles on her personal blog Life’s a Feast.
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- Anthony Bourdain on how food bloggers spend their nights
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