Could learning to cook solve everything?

On the weekend I read a short book (or extra long article) by Mark Bittman called Cooking Solves Everything. It was a quick read, but it’s clear and simple message was very persuasive.

Bittman agrees with many of us that our current food system isn’t good for our health or our environment. We’ve all heard the statistics on obesity before, as well as genetically modified crops, over-medicated animals treated cruelly, and excessive use of chemicals for pest and weed control. There’s lots of groups working on trying to fix this situation via regulations, boycotts and trying to convince people to change their diets.

But Bittman thinks there’s another way to replace destructive agribusiness methods with something better for us and the planet. His suggestion is that we need to teach more people to cook. We’re not talking fancy gourmet stuff here, just sandwiches for lunch, and a pasta or stir-fry for dinner. Maybe a nice steak, or a roasted chicken, or some grilled marinated tofu to make a more substantial meal.

He comes up with 10 reasons that learning to cook leads to wide-ranging and lasting improvements. People who know how to cook choose less processed food. They can tell the difference between quality seasonal vegies and the limp stuff that’s been kept in long-term storage. Food tastes better when you cook it yourself, the same way the wonky beanie I knit myself is more valuable to me than the one I bought for five bucks at Woolies. Plus, cooking gives you control over what you’re eating, and independence from the giant corporations who want you to eat whatever gives them the most profit.

Which is all very nice for us as individuals, but the benefits go wider than that. More home cooks means more demand for real food over processed food. It’s a political statement (whether you mean it to be or not) that your time and your money are best spent on doing something healthy for you and your loved ones, and not on corporations with questionable ethics. It creates a more diverse and robust local economy, which helps everyone along.

So do you cook much? I do, at least to the level that Bittman is talking about. I can chuck together some herbs and mushrooms and parmesan and stir it through some pasta. I can roast a chicken and make either mashed veg or a salad to go with it. It’s not fancy, and I won’t win any prizes for presentation, but it tastes good. It feels satisfying to know I can provide for myself and my husband and friends this way. And I have noticed the personal benefits listed above.

If you’re not a confident cook, don’t let that stop you. Once every couple of weeks, look up something from taste.com.au or some other cooking site and give it a whirl. I guarantee that it’s pretty hard to make something completely inedible. And there’s always beans on toast if you do

If you are a regular cook, how do you think we can get more people to try it? So far I’ve thought of a couple of ideas:

• teaching a friend, Jamie Oliver style;
• inviting someone around who doesn’t normally cook for themselves, and making them a meal while they watch and maybe have a glass of wine. Showing is always more convincing than telling, and maybe after a few tries they’ll get involved.

What do you think?

Bittman’s booklet is available online via byliner.com for just under three bucks (US), and you can read an excerpt for free. If you’re interested in food issues, it’s well worth a look.