One of the hardest and most confounding things we do every day is figuring out what food to eat, whether it’s good for you, and how to be conscious about where it all comes from. Author Sophie Egan is here to help.
Egan’s book, “How to Be a Conscious Eater: Making Food Choices That Are Good for You, Others, and the Planet,” is a one-stop shop for the practical ways to eat, purchase, and think, and covers everything from food allergies to how to read confusing labels in the store.
Egan took part in a webinar to celebrate World Sustainable Gastronomy Day alongside Barilla VP of Nutrition and Wellbeing Dondeena Bradley, Peter Klosse from The Academy for Scientific Taste (TASTE), and Sara Roversi from the Future Food Institute.
We wanted to dive deeper into Egan’s practical guide, especially when it comes to Italian food and the Mediterranean diet, so we spoke to her after the conference to get her thoughts on eating all things Italian and how to make more conscious eating decisions in general.
I think there are a lot of misconceptions when it comes to pasta in particular. What are your thoughts around pasta when it comes to gluten and when it comes to carbs, and how should people think about it?
The gluten situation actually remains a bit of a mystery but there's a good amount of information that's come out. One is that the number of people for whom gluten is a genuine issue is relatively small. It's about 1% that have celiac disease. I think it's 6% at last check, that have some kind of gluten sensitivity. And yet numbers as high as a third of Americans are trying to avoid gluten. So, it's that disconnect that I think is really at the root of your question. Where is the villainizing of pasta or maybe carbs more generally, coming from?
For example, with gluten, the substitutes and gluten-free processed foods are often either as bad or even worse for you nutritionally than the gluten in the first place. There's also been data suggesting that gluten-free products are more expensive. So, in many cases, you're actually paying more for a less healthy option that you may not actually need.
Why is it that people who seem to have gluten issues in America have no problems at all in Italy?
Some of the theories are that it has to do with fermentation, not just the grains themselves, but how you're making bread. So, essentially that some of the glutens are sort of broken-down through long fermentation. And that may be just baked into the traditional methods of bread baking in Europe. There could be a healthy bacteria component to this as well. The other interesting thought is that it's the grains themselves and the way wheat is produced and is there something going on with pesticides? Long story short, I think it's an interesting anecdotal observation that enough people have brought to light that it definitely merits further exploration.
You talk a lot about food fraud. What are some of the biggest scams in the Italian food world?
Product adulteration has come to light with some really premium products. Like with Parmesan cheese, there is a scandal I described in the book that maybe is close to home with Italy. I had the chance to go to Parma, Italy, and I remember eating Parmigiano Reggiano in this delightful piazza and the waiter said, you don't want to take the next train stop because the further you travel from Parma, the worse the Parmigiano Reggiano will be. And I thought this was fascinating because this is a cheese that has been perfected for literally over 1,000 years. And it deservedly garners a high price, right? What had been happening in the US was that cellulose was being added to it as a filler. So, you're better off buying it whole, as a chunk. The original chapter title in my book was, ‘Is that sawdust on my penne?’ I think the interesting takeaway is that the more whole the food is, the more transparency there is.
What are your thoughts on the Mediterranean diet?
One of the things I really emphasize in the book that relates to this category I call ‘Good for you.’ Yes, it's about nutrition, but there's a lot of nutrient centrism, especially in the US and UK, where we reduce food to a tally of this or that many grams of protein that I'm accumulating throughout the day or grams of fat that you’re avoiding at all costs or carbs, and counting calories and so forth. And that nutrient centrism really can get in the way of what I suggest is what’s good for the whole you. Things like happiness, joy, and pleasure. Some people are very uncomfortable talking about pleasure in the context of food and that's something with the Mediterranean diet and the lifestyle of the Mediterranean diet, it is a big part of it, it is the celebration and the appreciation of the simple pleasures and the sensory aspects.