A couple of decades in recovery from food addiction has taught me that it's an illness best self-diagnosed, because — well, to speak for my own experience, until I conceded that I had it, I sure wasn't going to do anything about it.

Having said that, I think that Clifford the Big Red Dog may have issues.

I've mentioned before that I'm a subscriber to the COMFOOD e-mail loop, and though it's lots of mail, I keep receiving enough that's worth it.

The latest tidbit is a database of books and films on issues of interest to sustaina-foodies such as myself (and possibly you?) It is maintained by Philip H. Howard, an associate professor at Michigan State.

It's voluminous, and everything I looked for in a spot check was in there, so I'm guessing that everything else is, too. Worth checking out.

In Washington Monthly, reporter Lina Khan lays bare the scandalous treatment of the nation's farmers at the hands of Big Ag. The story shows that we've been here before, with a handful of meat companies controlling their suppliers' markets, which gives hope that we can escape this stranglehold again, as we did in the '20a.

Here, I pick up where I left off yesterday. I split one piece into two because 800-words-plus is more than too many readers will put up with in one post.

4) Flavorings: As many choices as you have in vegetables, you have even more here. The obvious ones, not only useful but practically required, are chopped onion and garlic. The food maven Mollie Katzen used to say that every recipe of her grandmother’s started with, “chop and saute an onion,” because even if it wasn’t needed in the recipe, it just made the kitchen smell so nicely.

The UK's British Heart Forum makes a reasoned, nuanced case for imposing taxes on unhealthy foods, but I'm not sure it moves the needle.

A bromide of dieting is that you should eat your vegetables first, presumably so that if anything happens — becoming full or nuclear war, whichever comes first — you will have eaten the most healthful portion of the meal.

I don’t follow that bromide, but I do eat my vegetables first. I find that without thinking, I gravitate to them because they are the best tasting things on my menu. Colors, textures, natural sweetness, and more.

Attraction, not promotion.

Final notes from the inaugural “Your Weight Matters”ment that seeks to address issues around obesity is that our issue is not about — and shouldn’t be regarded as — fashion, but about health. Some obese people escape the many adverse health effects related to the condition, and people who are not obese do experience those conditions.

I subscribe to the news service operated by the International Association for the Study of Obesity, and I think you should, too. But the purpose of this post is not to pimp but to promote a couple of related stories on this week's report.

The first is by amednews.com that highlights what four states are doing to address obesity among their residents. The four include Colorado (the least obese state) and Mississippi (the most); a prevailing strategy is to target youngsters.

More notes from the inaugural “Your Weight Matters” conference in Dallas...

They played the Jennifer Livingston video (she’s the Wisconsin anchorwoman who was flamed in e-mail for being overweight) at the opening session, declaring her as a hero for standing up to the cretin who wrote to her.

OAC isn’t the only weight-advocacy group to praise Livingston, and I continue to struggle with that stance.

Our booth neighbors over the fence at the Obesity Action Coalition's "Your Weight Matters" conference in Dallas last weekend represented Take Off Pounds Sensibly, or TOPS, as it is known.