Foodish

I regularly buy sliced mangos from the Mexican street vendors as I drive through South L.A. It comes in little plasticene bags and is sprinkled with red pepper powder. It's delicious as all get out, especially on a hot day, but I'm guessing it's prepared and packaged far outside the scrutiny of the health authorities. Still, that doesn't bother me. I figure since it's nothing but fruit and spices it's still better for me than half the stuff you read on the labels in the market. I wanted mashed potatoes the other day. I was feeling lazy and figured I'd get a package of the prepared kind. I read the ingredients, recoiled in horror, and bought a couple of potatoes which I took home and mashed. Ninety percent of the stuff we buy is what author Michael Pollan calls "foodish," resembling food but closer in reality to a manufactured commodity.