Page 72 - Summer2018

All Thumbs Book Reviews

Food folks were thinking about and trying to figure ing people change their food habits involves
movements out what kind of food resulted in health and providing a community—a tribe—for them to
what kind of food actually deserved to be called join. You can’t separate food from community.
are cultural “food.” Kauffman quotes Paul Bragg, who Third, food movements have always been led by
movements. stated, “I have helped thousands of hopeless enigmatic, engaging and enlightening people. I
Any time sufferers back to new life and health by teach- am sure that the Aajonus Vonderplanitzs, Sally
ing them the cause of all disease—a poisoned Fallon Morells and Joel Salatins of today will
the culture bloodstream resulting from the popular diet of someday find their way into the books of tomor-
is shifting or unnatural, demineralized and devitalized food- row. Hippie Food also makes it clear that some
changing also less foods.” Bragg no doubt was engaging in a of the movement's leaders were egregiously
bit of hyperbole, but we have to nod and agree flawed but shows that without these mavericks
presents an that much of America’s declining health can and rogues, healthy food could well have be-
opportunity be traced to the “foodless food” that overtook come almost fully extinct and unavailable.
In short, the book reminds us that his-
to change the nation. tory is messy. Kauffman doesn’t gloss over the
In southern California, the growth of Holly-
how people wood helped health and beauty take center stage, fact that mistakes can be costly and that some
think about spreading (via television and other media) to people suffered (or even died) chasing alterna-

food. the entire U.S. and beyond. What Bragg, Boots tive diets and ideas. The zeal with which some
people embrace alternative diets, mediated
and others began teaching and selling in So-
Cal eventually found its way into almost every through gurus instead of traditional wisdom,
kitchen. This burgeoning health food movement can sometimes cause great harm. At times, the
was not without its detractors, however. Many of health food movement also has imported and
the same players who today continue to attack embraced other cultures’ health foods without
healthy food and farming got an early start com- paying attention to how those cultures actually
ing out against what they called the “food fad- raise, prepare and consume them.
dists,” telling people that so-called health foods Last but not least, Hippie Food makes
“won’t do you any special good.” Fortunately, it clear that there is no health food without
the critics did little to slow the movement’s healthy farming. Sadly, some sectors of the
success. Even with the health food movement’s health food movement have started to drift
many imperfections and problems, it was hard from a commitment to healthy farming, which
for early converts to take mainstream health especially means local farming. Early health
authorities seriously when they saw first-hand foodists worked tirelessly to support and pro-
how little the critics had to offer. tect local and truly organic farms. Without
Kauffman includes too much material to their labor, we likely would have little organic
describe in a short review. Hippie Food is as agriculture today.
dense as the early loaves of unrisen, unyeasted Overall, while recognizing that there is
whole wheat and whole grain breads, yet it never more to glean from the story of health food
loses its palatability or appeal. Nonetheless, in America, Hippie Food reminds us to value
I found several elements of Kauffman’s fine the good while we continue to pursue the bet-
work especially important. First, food move- ter. While we are at it, it helps to have a sense
ments are cultural movements. Any time the of humor and an appreciation of history. Two
culture is shifting or changing also presents thumbs up.
an opportunity to change how people think Review by John Moody
about food. Second, a powerful force for help-

70 Wise Traditions SUMMER 2018