Wednesday, March 18, 2009

The mother of slow food



I personally love Alice Waters and think she is amazing. She truly is a visionary and has done incredible things for this country! Thankfully, she isn't done yet and has many more things planned, such as the vegetable gardens at schools across the country and at the White House, which are both genius ideas. It would be so significant for the Obama's to decide to do away with the rose garden in lieu of a vegetable one and see their cute girls out there learning about compost and organic gardening. It would set quite a precedence, wouldn't it?

Some of my favorite parts of the interview are when they are at the incredible Slow Food Festival and they show the beautiful vegetable garden in front of city hall. How amazing! Then, this response from Alice when the interviewer talks about the high price of organics:

"We make decisions every day, about what we want to eat. Some people buy Nike shoes…2 pairs! And other people eat Brock's grapes and nourish themselves. I pay a little extra, but this is what I wanna do."

That is so very true. When we talk to people about organics, many of them say "it's too expensive" or "we can't afford them", but it really does come down to choices with what you choose to buy and what you don't, and within the vast majority of situations it's ALL about priorities. One of our top priorities is our health and the health of the environment. Thus, we do without other things so we can buy 100% organic all the time because we know it's worth it! Next post I think I'll share some things we do to maintain our 100% organic diet within a set budget...

The other part of the interview I enjoyed was when the interviewer was shocked that Alice didn't have a microwave in her kitchen. Well, we have one sitting unplugged in our laundry room but never use it (except as a resting place for rising dough:), so yes, it can be done! OH and the farmer's market footage had me so excited for ours to open here in the next month...I can hardly wait! What about you?

Anyway, I found the video inpiring and wanted to share it! I sure would love to someday eat at Chez Panisse that's for sure, and what an amazing thing it would be to sit down and chat with Alice. She's on my list...as is Jane Goodall. Alice truly is the mother of the slow local organic food movement and I cannot wait to see the further impact she has on this country!

Thank you Tiny Morsels for sharing the video.

11 comments:

Allison said...

i already loved her cookbook, but this interview is so great - so inspiring. Thank you for sharing!!

Erin Alaska said...

i need to learn to slooooow down. i easily get carried away in the immediacy of everything out there. loved the interview though.
Happy Spring!

Maria Rose said...

I agree with the notion of choice. I feel that it is far more important to nourish my body than almost anything else I spend money on. Plus, the cost of organics has significantly lowered in the past decade.

Anonymous said...

We don't have a microwave either and people think it is odd, I think some people rather than think that it is a conscious choice, think that it is because we can't afford one

nichole said...

i really enjoyed the video. thanks for sharing and inspiring others. aka. me.

heather jane said...

Here is a link you might enjoy about Michelle Obama breaking ground for the White House garden!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090320/ap_on_go_pr_wh/white_house_garden

Lisa said...

Great post! I, too, love Alice Waters. I have been cooking with her "Simple Cooking" book and I love it! I am lucky enough to live 5 minutes from Chez Panisse and I have eaten there many times!! It is incredible!!! We only buy organic fruit and vegetables as well. It is something we cannot compromise on... if it's not organic, we don't buy it. But we cut costs in so many other ways. Especially now. Thanks again for a great post!

Grace and Aria said...

Nicely stated. Your right, it is a choice and many choose to spend their money on other priorities. I never thought of it this way. thanks :)

Anonymous said...

I too would LOVE to see a veggie garden at the White House... whenever we go to a City Garden, I gaze in pure delight at the Veggie part of it... it is usually surrounded by wire and visitors can't enter (sigh... apparently some visitors take the veggies) but just to see their gorgeous veggies makes me want to rush home to garden! I think it is in our instinct to be mentally nourished by seeing a veggie garden.
And, PS, thanks for visiting my blog... it's lovely to see you there. My sons birthday in on 1 May and a farm theme is definitely on the cards... yours looked so lovely! Thanks for the inspiration.

Molly said...

i'll have to make a few minutes to watch that video. LOVE chez panisse. i have yet to eat there, though i've run in a few times to grab their anniversary posters (david lance goines is at the top of my list). i reference my chez panisse cookbooks on a regular basis. i too agree about the choices - we do without a lot of things that others might consider necessities so that we can afford what we consider necessities.

and our microwave? it's definitely on it's way out of our kitchen. thanks for this post!

inkWELL Press said...

Great post! I agree eating healthy and organic is a choice you have to make regardless of price sometimes. You are making me rethink my microwave! :)