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  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] What Alice Waters is Missing
  • Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2009 15:46:31 -0700



(nonsense. if people learned how to cook they'd find eating organic is
cheaper than processed storebought. and of course most of us can't get
enough variety at farmers markets, no surprise, so we need to grow more of
our own or buy local from other sources. too hard for the clueless to
figure out.)


What Alice Waters is Missing
Isabel Cowles
March 25, 2009 | 02:34 PM (EST)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/isabel-cowles/what-alice-waters-is-miss_b_1791
25.html4

For decades, Alice Waters has commanded attention for her love of the
freshest, most local food. Last week, her crusade was the focal point of
national attention, as Michelle Obama finally agreed to plant an extensive
vegetable garden at the White House.

If Ms. Waters is serious about changing the national food system for all
Americans, she needs to get down and dirty on the economic issues tied to
her edible ethos. At present, the food Waters espouses--clean, local and
organic--is not sustainable to the American wallet.

Two weeks ago, in honor of Houston's best growing season, I committed to
eating only local foods for a full moth. For 30 days I planned to restrict
my diet to whatever was grown, raised and slaughtered within 100 miles of
my doorstep. My plan was derailed three days--and fifty dollars--later.

Without the use of my own vegetable garden, the only way I could afford to
live on strictly local food for the period would be to eat eggs (at $3.50 a
dozen) with scant veggies and bulk beans. Normally, I buy staples from a
super market and make meals that feature whatever is fresh at local
farmers' markets. Without the addition of non-local grains, flour, butter,
milk and affordable produce, I was left with esoteric dairy, (raw goat's
milk) meat, mushrooms, dried black beans and lettuce--all at an exorbitant
cost.

It wasn't a huge surprise: in general, I spend almost as much at the
farmers market as I do at the local grocery store each week, and the
locally grown produce accounts for less than a quarter of what I eat.
Trying to rely purely on my regional food sources was harrowing, though,
and illuminated a major flaw in America's food system: for the first time
in my life, I understood what it was like to be unable to afford the
healthy food I wanted.

Like so many Americans, I have been inspired by Waters' mission and believe
that her far-reaching message has improved this country. Nevertheless, her
current platform needs an update, or more bluntly, a reality check. When
interviewed by Lesley Stahl of 60 Minutes, Waters outlined her noble
vision: "I feel that good food should be a right and not a privilege and it
needs to be without pesticides and herbicides. And everybody deserves this
food. And that's not elitist."

Later, when asked about the exorbitant price of organic grapes, ($4 a
pound) Waters said, "We make decisions everyday about what we're going to
eat. And some people want to buy Nike shoes -- two pairs, and other people
want to eat Bronx grapes, and nourish themselves. I pay a little extra, but
this is what I want to do."

The remark was rife with elitism -- the choice that most people face is not
between name-brand shoes and grapes. The audience Waters referred to in her
comment is probably already capable of choosing organic produce, at least
part of the time. But the people for whom this "right" is absent aren't
likely to be sporting the latest Zooms or Air Jordans. Or both.

All people deserve good, clean food. But, if even professionals like me
cannot afford to eat the way Ms. Waters eats, then it is highly unlikely
that poor or even middle class Americans are going live off the organic
produce at a local farmers markets.

Ms. Waters should use this moment in the spotlight to strongly encourage
political leaders to help subsidize and support regional farmers in their
area. She should lobby for the construction of community gardens across the
United States, especially in urban areas where farmers markets and fresh
food are hard to find. Finally, she should write some of her persistent
letters to the CEOs of Whole Foods, Trader Joes and other sustainable food
franchises to see if prices can come down significantly, so that everyone
can enjoy the sustenance they deserve.

For Ms. Waters to be truly effective in the coming decades, she must
address the unsustainable problem of sustainable food prices, or else the
momentary excitement over the Obama victory garden will prove little more
than a fad for the privileged.






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