OK so I can be somewhat intense about the topic of clean food, as some of my friends can attest to, and the fact that much of our current food system is broken. Friends have been victim to my pontificating on the topic and many have been the recipients of articles in my attempt to wake them up to what goes into some of the items they put on their family’s tables. As good friends would do, they thank me for sharing and caring, but I sometimes wonder what, if anything, they do with the information after they’ve (hopefully) read it.
Being true to form, here I go again.....on any given day, and not just once, but lately it seems like ten or more times per day, I happen to come across pieces whether published in the press or on the internet, or broadcast on radio and TV, about food and its relationship to the healthcare crisis, energy crisis, climate change, spirituality, and on and on. It seems like all of a sudden it’s coming at me from so many directions. I have to admit, I’m glad it is. It’s about time!
This morning I re-read one of the most recent pieces:
Michael Pollan's article published in the October 12th Sunday NY Times Magazine entitled
Farmer In Chief . I won’t even begin to comment on the article, but only say that if you haven’t already seen it, it is worth your time to read it, including the feedback comments from readers. It appears that Pollan is becoming a leader in the world of food activism and while I applaud his article, which is both a wake-up call of sorts and a proposal to the next Commander in Chief on ways to address many of the challenges related to the current food system in the US, I can’t help but ask myself how you can possibly convince so many people who are a product of the current US food culture to change the way they’ve been accustomed to eating for so many years.
Yes, I agree that much of what is sold for food today is not even worthy of being called junk food. But I wonder, if not for the fast food chains and processed convenience foods, how many people today would actually know how to cook whole foods? I wonder if they’d survive the challenge.
On two recent trips to the supermarket, I was asked by the check out person (two different people) what the green leafy thing they were trying to scan was because they couldn’t identify it. I can’t remember if the items were parsley or a lettuce of some sort. No kidding…I had to laugh. Unless it’s a carrot or banana, it appears that some of our most basic foods are completely unfamiliar in their natural state. Now try to imagine those same people cooking dinner every night. Sorry if that sounds harsh and judgmental, it’s not meant to be. I’m simply trying to illustrate how far removed we have become with the primary resource we rely on to keep ourselves alive and healthy.
Food is revered in so many other cultures around the world. Cooking and eating can be, and in some places is, equated with spiritual practice. So why do so many people in the US look at food preparation as a chore--something to be abbreviated or avoided if at all possible? How does a culture that has relied on having so much of what is considered a fundamental practice in life handed to them in the form of convenience foods become once again self-sufficient in this practice?
One of the best ways to continue to help shift the tide is by educating children now. This isn’t a novel concept, as there are many initiatives underway like the
Edible Schoolyard pioneered by
Alice Waters. Here’s another example: there’s a wonderful organization called
The Chef’s Garden in Huron, Ohio. The Chef’s Garden is home to the Culinary Vegetable Institute and to
Veggie U!, a non-profit established to bring food education into the 4th grade classroom. The kids get to meet the farmers, plant the seed packets provided to them by Veggie U volunteers, ultimately harvest, learn to cook under the instruction of some very well known chefs, and enjoy eating the food they’ve grown. It’s a wonderful concept and organization that teaches kids about food choices and the ritual of food preparation.
You know, growing up in the same house with my grandparents, Sunday meal preparation sometimes took all morning and time spent at the table eating, sharing, and participating could last up to three hours depending upon who was seated around the table. Of course as a kid, I did not appreciate or fully comprehend the specialness of this type of event and the lessons it was imparting to me. Today, as an adult, I do.
Lately I’ve noticed that I’m in the zone no more than when I’m cooking. I’m completely focused, creative, and relaxed. There is something very fulfilling about transforming some very basic ingredients into a loaf of bread, a pie, or a simple meal. On the occasions that I am able to share my food with others, I end up with an even greater feeling of satisfaction and contentment. Food provides so much more than nutrition for the body; it feeds the soul. It brings us all closer together beginning with the interdependence between the land and animals that go into making up our food sources to the people with whom we choose to share our bounty. The practice of food preparation is noble and one of life’s most simple pleasures….that’s what cooking is!
Cottura felice!
