Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Most of What You Eat is Not Real Food


farmer's market, fresh vegetablesThe Speigel Online (The Mirror - German Magazine) conducted an interview with legendary chef Alice Waters about the "eat local" movement, which has become a force to be reckoned with in the United States in recent years. 

Waters was one of the pioneers of that movement -- she transformed her state's cooking in the 1970s into world-renowned "California cuisine" with her Berkeley restaurant Chez Panisse. She promoted the use of in-season produce from local farms, and advocated planting vegetable gardens in schools.

More than three decades later, Waters is still promoting sustainable agriculture. She is now vice president of the international Slow Food movement, which promotes regionally grown goods and local culinary traditions.

In the interview, Waters expressed her opinion that most of the food currently being consumed is not real food. Real food, she argues, is grown by people who take care of the land, and who refrain from using herbicides and pesticides. Real food is food that's grown for taste, and it's grown in a way that pays people a good wage for their work rather than being grown at somebody else's expense.

To read the whole interview, and see what Waters has to say about seasonal food, the spread of the eat-local movement, and the food policies of President Obama, click the link below.


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