Peculiar food choices I have made, and associated rambling.

On Wednesday we went to the Olympien for lunch, and out of the blue I ordered the Pizza Norvegienne – cheese (emmenthal, probably; after eating pounds of it in Gabon, I can’t really get excited about emmenthal), smoked salmon, and crème fraîche. It was very, very good – a crispy, slightly charred crust supporting the rich, salty toppings – and also thought-provoking.

One of my family’s golden rules is ‘Never order anything aquatic in Africa if you cannot see the body of water it came from.’ This rule was constructed in order to avoid food poisoning, but I like that it also encourages eating from the ecosystem you’re actually in, minimizing the carbon impact of your food, and eating fresh stuff. Obviously, I have no qualms about contravening it, but as I wander around La Fourmi (expat supermarket) covetously eyeing glossy cheeses flown in from France, I also feel guilty. I do only buy locally produced yoghurt, fromage frais, etc., but I haven’t seen any non-import butter, for example. (I would like to see whatever export/import agreement France has with Mali [Gabon, Côte d’Ivoire, etc.] – I bet there are plenty of duties on Malian dairy products, and none on French. Not that my citizenship allows me to sneer at other countries’ blind and absolute protectionism.) Fruit, vegetables, eggs are from here and issue-free, but sometimes I succumb to the desire for LU cookies, or Bonne Maman jam, or something else that doesn’t help any Malian industry, was flown here at significant carbon cost, and probably isn’t that good for me anyway. I often feel hapless as a consumer – what is the cost to my bank account? What is the cost or benefit to my health? What is the cost to the environment? What kind of business does it support? Was it tested on animals? Will the packaging stay in a landfill for 1,000 years? How do I balance all these questions and make the best choice?

And then there a simpler bit of my cortex, which is saying ‘That pizza was good. Try it with a glass of white wine next time.’