Eat it

(discussing [blake]'s displeasure with the popularity of "organic diets")

[blake] In addition to the "dish" cooked up by [tanseybe], I have some related "appitizers", and "sides". It seems like you may be referring to one or some or all of the following ways to choose one's diet: eating healthy, eating vegetarian, eating organic, eating local. I would think that picking out a "topical" diet, one that is more often than not merely a fad of food selection, like "organic", or "with lycopene", or without "trans fats" is not much different than any other fad diet, like any number of low-carb diet plans. It takes a basic idea that may have benefits, and then applies that across the board as if it will make everything great. That said, that doesn't mean that the basic idea itself necessarily worthless. Most people probably do eat more carbs than they need, consume more chemicals than is good for them, and could probably use some extra natural vitamins and amino acids. But as you said, to act like to make this a "diet" is something of conscience is pretty lame.
However, "eating healthy" or "eating local" are not simply fads of choice, but are more along the lines of strategic food choice strategies or general maxims, like "look before you eat". I think there is nothing wrong with being proud of exercising good choice in how one takes care of oneself, or even one's ecosystem. Why else could we say that these are good choices? There are plenty of people who eat fast food all the time and have cholesterol problems. If one makes a conscious choice to avoid this, and thinks that this is the right decision for them, why shouldn't they be happy about it? Food nihilism is not a proper response to the fact that people are easily impressed by food cults.
Eating "vegetarian" may be the example that provides a comparison between the two aspects. While eating vegetarian may be nothing more than a general strategy to consume less animal fat, cholesterol, and perhaps reduce ones ecological "footprint", often it takes the nature of a food cult, to the extent that practitioners treat it as a moral proscription (and some vegetarians road to the practice is entirely moral). As you noted, eating more vegetables can have many benefits, but that does not make vegetables "good", and meat "bad". But, that doesn't mean that one shouldn't feel good about going with the eggplant parm rather than the veal.
Long story short, we all know the maxim, "you are what you eat". I think that many people in our society could vastly improve their lives if they took this to heart a little more often. And, if they do so and thereby improve their lives and society and the ecosystem, this is nothing to scoff at. Maybe this is the nature of responsibility that is different than moral alleigance?

PS: I have plenty of time to go shopping, eat my food, and have sex. Sometimes I combine all three.