How Cooking (Healthy Food) Can Improve Your Life

New Location: We will meet at True Food Kitchen (Bethesda) (7100 Wisconsin Ave, Bethesda, MD 20815)

Renowned activist and author Michael Pollan argues that cooking is one of the simplest and most important steps people can take to improve their family's health, build communities, fix our broken food system, and break our growing dependence on corporations.

Please watch this 20-min video before joining the discussion:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TX7kwfE3cJQ

If more than 10 people join the discussion, we will break out into separate groups.
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1. Corporate food production systems shape the way we farm, favoring monocultures and chemical-heavy methods to meet industrial demands. How might we begin to support agricultural practices that prioritize environmental and human health through our everyday food choices?
2. The decline of home cooking over the past decades has paralleled rising obesity and diet-related illnesses. What are some small shifts we can make to increase the amount of food we prepare ourselves, even within a busy schedule?
3. Processed foods are engineered to be hyper-palatable and addictive by design, exploiting our brain’s response to salt, sugar, and fat. How can we become more conscious consumers when confronted with highly processed options in stores and restaurants?
4. The food industry deliberately undermined home cooking by presenting convenience foods as modern, liberating, and necessary. What cultural narratives about cooking should we challenge or reframe to reclaim it as a valued practice rather than a burden?
5. Despite its popularity, nutrition science is still a developing field, often offering conflicting or incomplete advice. How can we navigate food decisions more confidently without relying solely on trending diets or health claims?
6. Ultra-processed foods often require additives and preservatives that may harm the gut microbiome and long-term well-being. What are some practical ways to identify and reduce the consumption of ultra-processed foods in a typical grocery haul?

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To provide an enjoyable experience for fellow participants, here are three ground rules during discussion events:

1. Step up and step back. (If you feel that you’ve been talking too much, step back to listen more. If you feel that you’ve been relatively quiet, step up to share your perspective or ask a question)
2. Listen to understand, not to respond.
3. Be open-minded and value differences.