SOUL FOOD TASTES GOOD. This is probably because salt, meat, cheese, and butter—the almighty cornerstones of southern cuisine— taste good. I know a lot of subjects (like facts, for instance) are up for debate in America right now, but for the sake of this piece, let’s agree on this. Another thing we should agree on: soul food tastes good, but most of it isn’t good for you. I’m from rural Middle Tennessee. I love fried chicken and cornbread and biscuits and country ham. I have the stomach and love handles to prove I love fried chicken and cornbread and biscuits and country ham. And apparently, I’m not alone. A 2015 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
found that the South—at 31.2 percent—is the most obese region in the United States. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Tennessee doesn’t fare much better: somewhere between 30 and 35 percent of our state’s residents are obese (we’ve got the ninth highest rate in the country). None of this, of course, would be a problem if obesity and obesityrelated illnesses weren’t fatal. As of 2016, heart disease is still the leading cause of death in America, and adult diabetes—which is projected to inflict 939,564 Tennesseans by 2030— isn’t far behind. We love our greasy, buttery, fried food. We love it so much that it might just kill us. Part of the problem with turning Tennesseans (or anyone, for that matter) on to healthy, plant-based
# NAT I V ENAS HV I L L E
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