An Economist Gets Lunch

Economics--the dismal science.

And yet I am absolutely intrigued by how economists think.  Their brains work in ways I can't even imagine.

My new read is Tyler Cowen's An Economist Gets Lunch which my husband mentioned as a possible read for me.  The review by Dwight Garner for the New York Times was definitely not full of praise.  However, Jerry Weinberger is more complimentary in his article here.  I admit, I'm not through the book yet.  It's still intriguing to me.  Who blames Prohibition for all the bad food in America?  Tyler Cowen.  That's who.  It's not entirely Prohibition's fault though.  He acknowledges other forces at work such as the rise of TV, the American style of parenting (which revolves around catering to the bland tastes preferred by children),  Emergency Quota Act of 1921 (which limited immigration greatly, thus reducing our food choices) and even the fact that the United States got to be really good at food production, storage and transportation.  We do not have to depend on the freshest ingredients grown locally because we can store and ship all kinds of foods.

It's an interesting perspective on why we love the foods we do and why we don't have more choices.

To read more by Tyler Cowen, visit his website or pick up his book