There’s nothing quite like the feeling of bread being made by your own two hands ... that elastic stickiness that rolls and folds at the pressure of your touch. How your breath may come more quickly as you push and knead and pound the dough. A sensual workout, no? And the smell! The yeast! The flour! And at the end, the all-important experience of the eating of the warm loaf. Slightly crusty, crunchy on the outside, warm and soft and mellowy on the inside. The butter melting into the holes, dripping down your hand or chin -- such a glorious commingling of the senses.  And yet, we complain, we cry: who has the time for this anymore?! Who can actually make their own bread?! And it’s true, we are an incredibly busy people. We zap our sustenance in speedy ovens, we utilize machines to bake our bread, or we just buy it. We eat out, and separately from our families an astonishing number of nights, eschewing the old traditions of gathering around the table together to nurture both our bodies and our spirits, connecting in ways that keep our families strong. 

And yet, we do have access to some of the most outstanding food in the world. Crusty Old World breads; fresh fruits and vegetables our parents and grandparents never heard of, let alone purchased at their market; meats and cheeses and juices and wines and on and on; the list is truly exhausting. Of course, there is a price for all of the luxuriousness. Food is expensive on many levels: it costs money to buy, it requires labor to produce and it uses valuable, irreplaceable resources to ship around the world. Not to mention the emotional connections and even upheavals that food might cause in our lives.

It seems that people are looking at food in their lives. People are analyzing what role food plays in daily life and whether that role is what they truly want from their relationship with food. Likewise, some people and organizations are taking food in a new direction, analyzing what role or roles food plays in culture, society and the lives of individuals. In this issue, we talk with Eric Schlosser, author of "Fast Food Nation" about our fast food industry and how it is affecting our lives and the lives of people around the world. Master bread maker Peter Reinhart shares a bit of his lifestyle based around food and spirituality and service to others. We visit with an organization dedicated to feeding those who cannot feed themselves and to creating community where there might be none. We hear wonderful stories and poems from our readers about food in their own lives and what it means to them. We think you’ll enjoy reading this issue as much as we did putting together. Perhaps even with a little snack?

Blessings,

Heidi Sullivan-Liscomb