If people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny. - Thomas Jefferson
I've read a lot, here and there, about Thomas Jefferson as the proto-foodie American. Between his Francophile roots and his gentleman farmer/vintner vocation, I'm sure it's true.
And not surprising, either. It brings me back to something I'm sure I mentioned here a long time ago. I have this old friend, a former coworker, who's in New York now, working for some big media company in a very jet-setty job. When I first mentioned to him that I was writing a food blog, it was in the same breath as I mentioned that his new fancy life was a lot more interesting than mine.
He begged to differ. Sure, he'd just come back from Cannes (ad festival, not film), but he said to me, "You know, the people I know who write food blogs actually have the most interesting things going on in their lives." He went on to say that he thinks people who are into food view everything else in life through a unique lens.
Which brings me back to TJ. It's easy to look back on previous times in history and to clearly see hte accomplishments of the greatest of Renaissance men. It's sometimes harder to point to those people in the present (Richard Branson might be the only one I can think of).
Thomas Jefferson is, obviously, one of the great American statesmen and an amazing all-around Renaissance man. That food was such an important part of his life makes him seem even cooler to me.
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