Are you a food outlier?

I got a kick out of a blog post from Cheryl Sternman Rule describing her nearly out-of-body experience in realizing-mid gush about Michael Pollan gossip-that no one in the group of people around her had the foggiest idea who or what she was blathering on about.

The comments from other readers are also telling, with food-loving folks sharing stories of their loved ones' absolute confusion regarding these other food outliers' food decisions and choices.

I bump into this feeling regularly myself. I feel a little lost each time I try to explain to my gym friend that just because it is a salad at Panera Bread doesn't necessarily make it a "healthy" option. Or when I raise an eyebrow about "fresh" berries in the supermarket in the dead of winter. Or in justifying to my mom why I'd prefer to eat animal products less frequently but pay out the nose for organic/ sustainably-raised critters whom I will enjoy down to the bone and marrow without worrying about what bizarre byproducts I am also consuming rather than simply buying them more cheaply at Wal-Mart. Or why I'm a little bit scared of Denny's.

Recently, I was coming around to accepting the cold, hard truth: Simply put, I am a food snob. However, I am cheered after reading Chery's blog post! Not only can I rename and reclaim my shame (am I right?), but apparently I can also enjoy being part of a much larger community of folks who are just like me, proudly adapting the mantle of "food outlier." What say you, KTC peeps?

via Serious Eats