For most Americans, the options seem limitless. Are we in the mood for steak or chicken or maybe some take-out Pad Thai?

But we have far less say over the food we eat – and how it tastes – than we think. Economics, climate change, culture, corporate ethics and 538 powerful men and women in Washington have decided what’s for dinner, long before we open the refrigerator or turn on the stove.

As a food writer at The Washington Post, my reporting and writing examines how politics, culture and business affect what ends up on our plates – and how that is dramatically changing. On this site, you will find links to my work and my my podcast, Smart Food, which explores the pleasures and challenges of good food.