in Metro today
my story on the Real Food Revival. Here, the Director's Cut (unedited):
I now know the reason I've never really liked tomatoes is that I havent had enough Real ones. The Real Food Revival by Sherri Brooks Vinton and Ann Clark Espuelas (Tarcher/Penguin, July 2005, $15.95) is an eye-opening look at what's Really good for you. Vinton returned crop-dusted from a cross-country motorcycle trip with questions about the way the food in this country was being produced and began asking questions. "I found that as I went around and talked to growers there was a lot already happening. Eaters are demanding accountability." She recruited Espuelas, a friend and avid eater, to the cause and the RFR took shape.
"Real Food is not black and white, there is no sticker. Eaters who patently buy organic should consider some of the other variables," Vinton warns. For instance, supporting your local bakery, fishmonger or farm could outweigh some of the net benefits of supermarket organic: "I'm always going to vote for the local supplier — if you keep them in business, there's hope." Vinton attributes the abundance of what she calls "fake" food to the consolidation of the food industry into fewer, increasingly powerful, producers. "This gives the illusion of choice, but everything is rock-hard and sour."
Vinton insists that "Real food is for real people" and not just gourmands. But the RFR unites the activist and the epicure, those of us who would have our veal but like it to come guilt free. Domestic caviar, heirloom crops — these are votes cast with palate as well as principles. "Each eater can change the system every time they pick up a fork," she says. One trip per season to a local farm or farmer's market could be enough to get big-box retailers to perk up their ears.
Vinton gets fired up about Real food and making a difference, but for beginners she advises small steps. "It's important to understand that it doesn't mean you never set foot in a supermarket again in order to make a difference." For the seasons when local produce is scarce, rely on a stash of canned, dried and frozen options. As much as possible go seasonal and local. Then when your strawberries or artichokes come back into season, go to the farmer's market and stock up on favorites. Vinton suggests, "give them as gifts at your office, make special dishes for your family, make a party out of it!"
I now know the reason I've never really liked tomatoes is that I havent had enough Real ones. The Real Food Revival by Sherri Brooks Vinton and Ann Clark Espuelas (Tarcher/Penguin, July 2005, $15.95) is an eye-opening look at what's Really good for you. Vinton returned crop-dusted from a cross-country motorcycle trip with questions about the way the food in this country was being produced and began asking questions. "I found that as I went around and talked to growers there was a lot already happening. Eaters are demanding accountability." She recruited Espuelas, a friend and avid eater, to the cause and the RFR took shape.
"Real Food is not black and white, there is no sticker. Eaters who patently buy organic should consider some of the other variables," Vinton warns. For instance, supporting your local bakery, fishmonger or farm could outweigh some of the net benefits of supermarket organic: "I'm always going to vote for the local supplier — if you keep them in business, there's hope." Vinton attributes the abundance of what she calls "fake" food to the consolidation of the food industry into fewer, increasingly powerful, producers. "This gives the illusion of choice, but everything is rock-hard and sour."
Vinton insists that "Real food is for real people" and not just gourmands. But the RFR unites the activist and the epicure, those of us who would have our veal but like it to come guilt free. Domestic caviar, heirloom crops — these are votes cast with palate as well as principles. "Each eater can change the system every time they pick up a fork," she says. One trip per season to a local farm or farmer's market could be enough to get big-box retailers to perk up their ears.
Vinton gets fired up about Real food and making a difference, but for beginners she advises small steps. "It's important to understand that it doesn't mean you never set foot in a supermarket again in order to make a difference." For the seasons when local produce is scarce, rely on a stash of canned, dried and frozen options. As much as possible go seasonal and local. Then when your strawberries or artichokes come back into season, go to the farmer's market and stock up on favorites. Vinton suggests, "give them as gifts at your office, make special dishes for your family, make a party out of it!"
posted by Kelly K. at 5:18 PM
1 Comments:
Congrats, pumpkin. Well done. I'm so proud of you.
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