Man I’m a total white kid who grew up eating pork chops and potatoes, but I fell in love with Mediterranean food the first time I had hummus on warm pita.

And while they’re at it, claiming that the Arabs were superior because they ate dates while the Brits ate meat?  The Arabs eat lamb or goat if they can get it, though they also do a lot with beans, notably falafel and hummus, as do pretty much anybody from Greece to Persia.

(I’m an actual vegetarian, and I’ve found that if you’re travelling in Germany and skip the ubiquitous pork and beef, and do a fair amount of sightseeing, you can lose weight on your trip in spite of all the beer and cheese and desserts and conference-hotel meals.)

EDIT: I like going to Whole Foods, but I’ve bumped into some truly uninformed, holier-than-thou attitudes there.
Now something sublime: If you live in San Diego, do yourself a favor and go to the Hillcrest Whole Foods, there’s an African woman who tends the salad bar and sings to herself all the time, it is like balm for the soul, absolutely beautiful.

The strongest argument for why women should always be laughing while eating a salad is that salads, being a leafy vegetable, are related to shrubberies, and this one time, a shrubbery was telling people stuff in the Bible.  While on fire, I think.  And therefore, salads must tell really good jokes, hence all the pictures of women laughing.

I should try to get that last one peer reviewed…  I’m gonna be the next celebrity scientist.

Thanks a lot!